Flames and Family
by madashes2ashes
Summary: KHR AU Alternate Universe . After the Varia Arc. A story following Tsuna and his Family as he grows into his power and claims it as his own. An invisible enemy appears that is more of a threat than it seems.
1. Chapter 1 Resolve

_**Please read this before reading the M rated Sequel!**_

_This story picks up after the Varia arc. This is an OVA. That is, this is an alternate story-line instead of following into the Future arc._

_Disclaimer: I do not own K. Hitman Reborn. All rights to the characters and world goes to the author Amano Akira. This is just a simple fanfic I wrote for fun._

_This work is completed, but feel free to give feedback. I could always use a good critique...or even a bad one at that!_

Another morning, another stolen omelet. Tsuna gave a half-hearted sigh as he walked with Gokudera and Yamomoto to school.

"What's wrong, Tsuna?" Yamomoto asked in response to the sigh.

"Nothing, I guess I'm just getting used to everything being so crazy everyday," he answered. "This time last year I would have been screaming on the top of my lungs over something like my breakfast being snatched...but it doesn't seem worth the fuss anymore. I guess..."he sighed again, leaving the rest unvoiced.

"10th..." Gokudera breathed.

"After all the trouble you've been put through with the ring battles, what did you expect?" Tsuna jumped automatically at the sound of Reborn's voice. "It's only natural that after going through such a life-threatening situation, your perspective on life's troubles change."

Tsuna scratched his head. It made sense, of course, but he wasn't about to admit it to Reborn. "Either way, unless we get moving, we're going to be late. Sensei already has an eye on us because we got away with missing so much school already." They nodded and set off at a pace that quickly left Reborn standing alone.

* * *

Later that night, Tsuna was relaxing out on the porch, thinking to himself. Today had been another day in the life of "No-Good Tsuna". A score of 20 on his math test, another face-plant in P.E., and he somehow ripped his pants in front of the girl's soccer team. One would think that after all the hellish training he'd done since Reborn joined him, he'd be able to be somewhat less useless in his daily life.

"Wishing you were less useless?" Reborn asked.

"Do I even need to answer a mind-reader?" Tsuna lamented.

"It's called manners," Reborn answered, brandishing Leon in his gun form.

Tsuna ignored the gun and sat up. "It's just..." he sighed. "It's just that after seeing my own potential in all the fights we've been through up to now, I don't understand why I am the way I am."

"Hmm..." came the answer Tsuna expected. However, this time it seems that Reborn was taking his complaint seriously. "Let me ask you something, Tsuna. Do you still do things that you regret?"

"Regrets?"

"Well, you will only be able to harness the Dying Will Flame when you have the determination to not do things you'll regret."

"I..see..." Honestly he didn't see.

"Every boss in Vongola's history has had a point in their life when the Dying Will Flame wasn't truly their own. Each went through their own trial in order to prove their determination and harness the flame as their own power. Up until they achieved that, they've all had to rely on an outside force to awaken it. In your case, you have me."

"Then what's the trial? What do I do, Reborn?" Tsuna's voice became high-pitched and excited, but was quickly settled down by a kick from Reborn.

As Tsuna rubbed his offended chin, Reborn answered seriously. "Think about it yourself, Baka-Tsuna. I can't do everything for you."

* * *

"Sawada!" The teacher's voice shouted.

"Yes!" Tsuna stood abruptly, causing the class to burst out laughing.

The teacher looked peeved. He'd obviously been calling on Tsuna for a while now. "Were you having a nice daydream, Sawada? Go stand in the hall."

Tsuna blushed brightly and quickly stepped outside the class. Once again he'd been caught while he wasn't paying attention. Reborn was going to be furious when he found out. But, for once, he hadn't been daydreaming about Kyoko. He'd been seriously thinking about the conversation from the previous night.

Unconsciously, he started pacing. "Start at the beginning," he thought to himself. "The Dying Will Bullet removes my limits during a life-or-death situation. The Rebuke Bullet awakens my inner potential by making me realize how my inaction or poor actions affects others."

"Arrrrgggg!" he said, rubbing his head. "I just don't get it!" Suddenly, he realized that while he was pacing he'd walked up to the roof. He sighed, realizing how angry the teacher would be, but shrugged it off immediately. He had other things to think about.

He leaned on the roof's railing while he continued thinking to himself. "Lately, I think I've been working toward not regretting my actions. I feel like I've been trying to do better in school. I also don't automatically cringe when I see a Disciplinary Committee badge anymore...only when I see Hibari is the one wearing it. What am I missing?" A single drop of rain splashed down on his hand and a small rumble of thunder made him look up. There was a storm gathering in the distant mist-covered mountains, but the clouds overhead barely covered the sun.

That's when it hit him. Storm, Rain, Sun, Thunder, Cloud, Mist...he was forgetting his "Family". "I really am nothing without them, aren't I?" he said to himself with a small smile. "Here I am, thinking that I should gain this power for my own selfish desires, when I should really be thinking about how to better prepare myself to protect them. We barely survived this time. If the ring hadn't rejected Xanxus...we'd probably all be dead right now."

"About time you started thinking like a boss," came Reborn's voice as he jumped down from the roof's storage building. "So, what are you going to do now?"

"I don't know," Tsuna answered honestly. "I just have this weird feeling that I've got to figure it out quickly." Reborn didn't say anything. Tsuna's "feelings" have been right on more than one occasion and weren't to be laughed at. "Either way, I better get back to class."

"I'll come with you," Reborn answered as he put on his Dr. Boreen disguise. "For once I'll get you off the hook with your teacher, but expect me to turn you to goo later."

Tsuna could only moan.

* * *

"Tsu-kun?" Tsuna looked up at his mother's voice. "Are you okay, Tsu-kun? You've been spacing out all afternoon."

He smiled, looking up at her across from the dinner table. "I'm fine. I just have a lot on my mind."

"Well, don't push yourself," came the surprising words as she turned her attention to the fussing Lambo. He sat back from the remains of his salmon and let himself just enjoy being around the others. I-pin and Lambo started fighting over the last bun. Fuuta began helping Nana, Tsuna's mother, clean the pots and pans from cooking.

Tsuna got up and walked into the living room. From the hallway, Bianchi and Reborn were having a low-voiced conversation that he could barely hear. His curiosity piqued, he stretched his ear to catch everything he could.

"...itsu sent word that the Renault family has been almost completely wiped out."

"That's the third family in the past month," Reborn replied in a low voice. "Even though they're a pretty new family in comparison to the Vongola, the Renault Family is well known for their power. Taking them down shouldn't have been that easy."

Bianchi nodded. "He said that their boss-in-training was the first one to bite the bullet."

"We'll have to keep an eye on Tsuna's safety until the investigation is over." Tsuna jumped as the hall door slid open and he gave a sheepish grin. "You heard, did you?" Reborn interrogated.

"Um...eh..."

"Well, until the culprit is identified, Iemitsu wants me to shadow you closely." At Tsuna's horrified expression, he merely said, "Live with it."

* * *

Tsuna rolled over in bed for the fifth time since he'd laid down. Reborn or anyone else would probably expect his restlessness to be due to the information he'd gotten. However, the truth was that the phrase "bite the bullet" kept resounding in his head. For some reason, those words had clicked somewhere in his head like a piece of a puzzle fitting into place.

Finally, after tossing and turning for several more hours, he sat up and rubbed his tired eyes. There wasn't anyway he was going to be able to sleep like this. Tiptoeing past his keeper, he went down to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water. Leon appeared from nowhere and ran up the side of Tsuna's glass. The chameleon ducked his head to drink while Tsuna gently patted his back.

"You couldn't sleep, either, eh?" Leon bounced his head in agreement. Suddenly, Tsuna got an idea. "Hey, Leon," he asked, "any chance I can have a Rebuke Bullet?" The little chameleon looked up at Tsuna, almost as to if ask why. Tsuna answered the unvoiced question, "I'm trying to figure out how to harness my flame so that I can fully control it. Maybe by having one of the bullets as a charm will help me come up with something."

The little chameleon tilted his head, as if thinking. Then, without warning, he shape-shifted into a gun. With a small click, the chamber opened and one of the six loaded bullets popped out. Picking it up, it proved to be the small white Rebuke Bullet that Tsuna had asked for. "Thank you, Leon," Tsuna said once the chameleon had reverted to his lizard form. With a small bounce of his head, Leon turned tail and scurried back up the stairs to his sleeping partner. Alone, Tsuna sat back in his chair thinking, allowing himself to be soothed by the rhythmic drip coming from the kitchen faucet.

* * *

The next morning, Tsuna was found snoring at the kitchen table, cradling the small bullet in his hand. A sharp kick proved useless in waking him, so Reborn used the "traditional Vongola waking method" of electric shock. This proved useful in getting the boy moving and ready in time for class. Reborn didn't ask anything about the bullet and quietly gave Leon another plain bullet to use as a catalyst in making a replacement. He was curious whether the boy had figured out anything, but assumed Tsuna would tell him when he was ready.

As the day progressed, Reborn noticed a subtle change in Tsuna's expression. Almost as if he'd come to terms with something. His theory was proved later when Tsuna was walking home with Gokudera and Yamamoto. Both of them had caught onto the other boy's mood and had been quietly walking beside him for a while. Although Tsuna probably didn't realize it, he'd actually walked past his own house three times while he was lost in thought. When he suddenly stopped, the other two followed suit without missing a beat.

"Have you come up with something amazing, 10th?" Gokudera said enthusiastically.

"It's about time you share what's been on your mind, Tsuna." Yamamoto said with a thumbs-up.

Tsuna blushed bright red, finally realizing that it was almost sunset and they'd been walking in circles around the city for several hours now. "Um, well..." he blushed again. "The truth is that there's something I want to try." The other two looked at him expectantly, so he continued with a little more confidence. "But, it's probably dangerous, so I thought maybe you two could come with me."

"Of course, 10th! You don't even have to ask! Though I should be enough..." he grumbled with a sharp glance at Yamamoto.

Tsuna interrupted, "Actually, Gokudera..." he knew this was going to hurt Gokudera's pride but he had to say it. "Actually, I need both of you to come. Reborn will probably come, too, and even then I'm not totally confident that I'll be okay."

"10th..."

"Is it really that dangerous, Tsuna?" Yamamoto asked seriously.

Tsuna nodded, but his mind was set. "Yes, I can't go into details, but it's something I have to do. I can't really explain...but it's one of those feelings I can't ignore. And after what happened with the Renault Family, I'd feel better if there were more than one of you. That way if something goes wrong and someone takes advantage of that to attack, you two can watch each other's backs."

Reborn came out of hiding and jumped on Tsuna's shoulder. For once, the boy didn't jump at his appearance, showing his resolve at facing whatever he was planning. "When do you want to do it, Tsuna?"

"Tomorrow morning," came the immediate answer. The other two looked at him in surprise. "Honestly," he said with a shadowed face, "the longer I think about it, the more I'm shaking inside. So, the sooner, the better." He looked up into the eyes of his two closest friends. "Don't...don't tell anyone else about this. Just pack for a camping trip and meet me here at dawn."

Gokudera and Yamamoto nodded not only to Tsuna's request, but to the unspoken resolve they saw in his eyes.


	2. Chapter 2 Reckless

"This is..." Gokudera shouldered his pack more comfortably on his back. 

"It's where I trained for the Zero Point Breakthrough." Tsuna led the group to a nearby cave at the base of the mountain while he explained. "Like I said before, this is going to be dangerous. I don't want anyone hurt by accident since I'm not really sure what's going to happen."

"If you don't know what's going to happen, then how do you know it's the right thing to do?" Yamamoto asked.

"Hmm..." Tsuna dropped his pack to the ground and sat on a nearby rock. "Like I said before, I can't really explain. It's mostly just a feeling that this is what I'm supposed to do." He shrugged.

Reborn sipped his coffee and relaxed against a fallen log while he listened to Tsuna. "Blood of Vongola." He said suddenly, causing everyone to stare. "It seems that once again, Tsuna's hyper-intuition is kicking in. At this point, the best thing you two can do is trust him." Gokudera and Yamamoto nodded to each other.

"Yup," Yamamoto smiled broadly, "Tsuna's never been wrong yet when it comes to things like this."

"Of course," Gokudera said threateningly, fingering the fuse on a stick of dynamite. "There's no way that the 10th would be wrong."

"No way!" Tsuna wailed, quickly trying to suppress their hopeless enthusiasm. "I make mistakes all the time!"

* * *

An hour later, the group had a small camp made ready within the cave and Tsuna stood with a feeling of finality. "I can't put it off any longer, I guess."

"What do you need me to do, Boss?" Gokudera asked with hopeful eyes.

"Well, for now, I just need Reborn to put me in Hyper Dying Will Mode, then I need to put some distance between us."

"Distance?" Reborn asked.

"Yah," came the quiet reply. "And I want a promise from all three of you."

"Anything, 10th!" Gokudera instantly replied.

"What is it?" Yamamoto asked, beginning to get worried about the shadowed look on Tsuna's face.

"No matter what happens..." Tsuna said slowly, as if to emphasize every word. "None of you will help me unless you can do so without getting hurt."

"?!" Yamamoto and Gokudera were knocked speechless at the quiet force they could feel behind that statement.

"All right." Reborn agreed. "I don't know what you're planning, but if you're that determined, I won't stop you. I'll keep these two blockheads in line, as well." With that, he fired Leon and a bright flame blossomed on Tsuna's head. When Tsuna looked up, his eyes held a clear and determined look.

Tsuna rummaged in his pack and pulled out binoculars for his two friends. Then he pointed to the east. "If you look a quarter-mile that way, there's a rock clearing. That's where I'll be." He handed Reborn his Vongola ring. "Keep that safe for me." Before the others could reply, he had increased the flame from his gloves and flew out of sight.

"Oi, Reborn," Gokudera said in a small, worried voice. "He's going to be okay, right?"

Reborn suddenly felt apprehension. Somewhere along the way, he'd fallen into Tsuna's pace and hadn't gotten any answers about what the boy was going to try. Realizing his own mistake, he had Leon transform into a pair of binoculars and climbed on top of a nearby rock outcropping. Curious, the other two boys followed suit.

Within seconds, the three had the rock clearing and Tsuna in their sights. From their point of view, Tsuna was simply standing in place, staring at something cradled in his hand. With a small start of surprise, Reborn said, "That's the Rebuke Bullet that Leon gave him."

"What's he planning?" Yamamoto asked to no one in particular. The other two couldn't answer.

A movement from Tsuna got their attention. Instead of looking at the bullet, he was now giving a sad look at the location where the three of them were watching. Then, without any other hesitation, Tsuna closed his eyes and stuck the bullet in his mouth. Before any of them could react, Tsuna had already swallowed.

The three watched in shock. "Did he..."

"He just..."

"This is bad." Reborn said in a dark voice. "Tsuna's already in Hyper Dying Will Mode. If the energy of a second bullet were to be released within him..."

They all turned their eyes back to Tsuna's location. Tsuna was bent over on his knees, clutching his stomach. The look on his face was full of pain. Gokudera immediately stood to run to Tsuna's side, but a sharp tug from Reborn tripped him. "What are you doing?!" Gokudera yelled.

"Can you get to him without getting hurt?" Reborn asked simply. Both Yamamoto and Gokudera paused and looked at Reborn in askance. "He's said several times that he didn't know what was going to happen. If you go now, are you positive you won't get hurt?"

A look of frustration passed across both the boy's faces. "That's the only thing he asked of you two. Without first understanding the situation you're running into, you could possibly end up hurting Tsuna."

"Hurting him...?" Gokudera asked.

"Tsuna's finally starting to trust his own intuition. However, if Tsuna makes it out of this in one piece and finds out that he hurt one of you two... Instead of questioning his trust in the both of you, he'd constantly be second guessing his own choices."

"Oi!" Yamamoto exclaimed. He pointed to the east where a large light had started to form. Everyone immediately pulled their binoculars back into place and Gokudera fell back to his knees at the sight they beheld.

Tsuna was still bent over and moaning in pain. Around him steam began to rise from the ground, partially obscuring their view. Suddenly, Tsuna pulled his head back and screamed in anguish. That's when they finally saw that the flame on Tsuna's head had flared exponentially larger. "A flame that large is too much for him to control," Reborn muttered. Yet, even as they watched, the flame continued to grow, quickly encompassing not only Tsuna's head, but his entire body. And still it grew larger.

The ground around Tsuna turned black and the rocks began to melt from the heat he was emitting. Where the flame touched trees, all that was left was ash and dust. Tsuna began to rise from the ground from the immense force of the flame.

"10th!" Gokudera cried but Tsuna was too far away to hear the words.

* * *

"Where...am...I?" Tsuna thought. It felt like he had fallen into a volcano. All around him was searing heat and pain. But he could feel it. The source of the flame that burned him. The flame that surrounded him and hurt him had several flows. He had to control those flows...somehow...before it killed him.

He could feel it. His life gushing out faster than he could stop it. He was running out of time.

"Must...control...it..."

He raised a hand toward the source of the flows. Even through his gloves, he could feel the immense power before him. As he pushed closer, trying to gain control, the worst happened. His gloves, which he had always thoughtlessly relied on, failed him. The cloth pealed from his hands in strips, leaving his hands utterly unprotected.

But still he pushed forward. His hands burned from the flame's heat, but he knew he couldn't stop. Without conscious thought, he grasped one of the flows of flame around him and used it. He wrapped his left hand in it, then without stopping to think, he forced the flame to change. When he looked down, he could see that it wasn't perfect, but wrapped around his fingers and palm were protective strips of highly compressed negative flame...ice.

Tsuna panted from the effort. He could barely feel his body's pain anymore. Part of him admitted that it was probably a good thing. He clenched his frozen fist. By forcing the flame into strips before transforming it into ice, there was a degree of allowed movement. Again he raised his hand toward the flame.

"This...is...it..." he told himself. "It's either do...or die..."

* * *

Gokudera, Yamamoto, and Reborn watched silently as the flame finally stopped growing. Tsuna had been limply hanging from the core of the flame since it had lifted him off the ground. His clothing had long since burned away and the only things left were his gloves. When even those began to burn, Gokudera tossed his binoculars aside and began running with Yamamoto in close pursuit.

Reborn didn't try to stop them. Tsuna had picked his location well. Even at their top running speed, they wouldn't reach Tsuna for several minutes. By then, Reborn could already tell that everything would be over.

Almost as if to answer his prediction, a loud rumbling began. Peering through his binoculars, Reborn watched as the flames encompassing Tsuna began to flicker out violently. What containment the boy had over the flames was starting to break. "It's now or never, Baka-Tsuna," Reborn said to himself.

In answer, Tsuna's eyes flew open and the flames around him abruptly died. Yet Tsuna still hung motionless in the air. A moment of silence ensued, so piercing that Gokudera and Yamamoto's footsteps faltered to a stop. Then a storm of flame erupted, gushing out from Tsuna in waves and turning everything it touched to ash.

The two guardians could only stand and watch as the trees in front of them vanished like mist and a wall of fire rushed toward them. The next thing they knew, they were laying on the ground behind a immensely large rock with a scorched Reborn slightly panting from effort. Yamamoto thanked Reborn as he stood to brush himself off, only to be knocked down again by Gokudera.

"Why did you--" Yamamoto began to say when another wave of flame licked around the edges of their shelter.

"Had you been standing, you would have been roasted, baseball freak." Gokudera brushed his singed hair back from his eyes.

"That last one didn't reach as far, but it's still enough to toast us if we go out." Reborn said, wiping ash from his face. "It looks like we'll have to wait it out here until it's over."

"Dammit! What was the 10th thinking?" Gokudera exclaimed after several more waves erupted.

"Who knows?" Reborn answered.

After a few minutes passed, Reborn took the chance to peek out of their shelter to try and see the current status. The heat blasted him in the face, but it wasn't intolerable. The flames had weakened enough that they only reached half the distance between their shelter and Tsuna. He gave the thumbs up to the other two boys, who immediately poked their head out to have a look.

The backside of their rock shelter had been melted down to half it's original thickness, leaving behind a mass of already-cooling magma and glass. "Had you two gotten any closer, there wouldn't have been anywhere to hide," Reborn scolded.

"What do we do now, little guy?" Yamamoto replied. "We can't get any closer to Tsuna, but it can't be good for him for us to let this continue." The three looked up at Tsuna's form which was still producing flames of frightening proportion.

Before Reborn could answer, the situation changed. The flames Tsuna was emitting began to slow. No only in frequency, but at the speed they rushed out. It was almost as if...

"He's freezing his own flames!" Gokudera yelled. They watched silently as three more waves were emitted and frozen before they'd gone farther than a few yards.

After what seemed like an eternity, the flames stopped coming out completely. From his mid-air perch, Tsuna's eyes drooped and finally closed. Whatever had been holding him up until now finally dissipated and the boy fell to the ground with a resounding thud.

Without hesitation, Gokudera and Yamamoto ran past the walls of frozen flame to where Tsuna lay fallen on a sheet of ice. To their horror, he was barely breathing and his skin was painfully hot to the touch. Throwing a Leon-blanket over his unconscious body, Reborn pulled out his satellite phone and dialed.

"It's me," he said to the person on other end, "I need a helicopter and your best field medics sent up to Death Mountain and I need them five minutes ago."

"His pulse is getting weaker!" Gokudera cried.

"Hurry." He listened for a moment then answered. "Don't worry, you'll see where to go when you get here."

Reborn sent Yamamoto to fetch their packs. Within a few minutes, he'd already returned and Reborn pulled the emergency first-aid kit out of Tsuna's bag. "I figured as much," Reborn mumbled. Over the course of the next several minutes, the three went through hell as Tsuna's breathing became more shallow and slow. The Mafia-grade ice packs from the kit didn't seem to help cool Tsuna's fevered body either.

Finally, the sound they were waiting for arrived. The helicopter swooped in and landed outside the rings of ice walls, stirring up a great cloud of ash and debris. Before Dino could even jump out to help, Gokudera rushed forward with the injured Tsuna in his arms. Reborn and a pack-ladened Yamamoto followed closely in his wake.

* * *

"We've got him somewhat stabilized," Dino announced as he walked into the waiting room. "He's got one hell of a sunburn, but his breathing is back to normal."

"What about his fever?" Reborn asked but Dino shook his head.

"We've got him on an IV to keep him hydrated and the nurses are changing his ice packs every 15 minutes, but the fever isn't going down." Dino shrugged, "the only thing we can do is wait it out."

"Well, it's only to be expected. After releasing that much flame at once, I'm honestly surprised he's still alive." Dino looked at Reborn, obviously wondering what had happened to cause the amount of destruction he'd seen.

"If you know that, then why did you let him do it?" Dino snapped, finally letting out some of his pent up anger.

Surprisingly, though, it wasn't Reborn that answered. It was the usually idiotic and feather headed Yamamoto. However, for once, he was completely focused and serious when he said, "Because Tsuna said he was going to do it. The only thing we can do is support him to the best of our ability when he's resolved to do something."

"Even with us there, though, he was hurt pretty badly. I..." Gokudera looked down in shame. He turned to Reborn, "What was he trying to do?"

"No helping it." Reborn said to himself before looking up at the two ring guardians. "He was trying to gain power."

"Power? What kind of power?" Dino asked, while the other two could only blankly stare in shock.

"The power to protect his Family," he answered simply. Reborn shadowed his face with his hat. "That's the only reason I didn't question him closer about what he was going to try. The only thing I can say is that he was trying to make the Dying Will Flame into fully his own power. It's a trial that every Vongola boss has went through. Some do it gradually over time, while others have instantly grasped it during battle. Each boss made the flame into their own power through a different method. I never thought Tsuna would do something so reckless to gain his."

Before anyone could react, the sound of a large commotion came from the entrance of the hospital. "Looks like the rest of the family is here." Dino guessed. "Come on, you guys, I'll do the talking."

The three exited the private waiting room, leaving an extremely quiet tutor sipping his coffee.

* * *

"So that's how it is," Dino said to the quiet gathering.

"He..."

"That idiot..."

"He should have known better..."

"Tsuna's crazy to try that..."

Haru was the first to finish a complete sentence around her shock and tears. "Of course, that's the Tsuna I love! He's the only one brave enough to run into a burning building to save an old lady's beloved dog." Behind Dino, Gokudera and Yamamoto could only look sheepishly at each other.

"Is he going to be alright?" Kyoko asked worriedly, clutching Nana's shaking hands.

"We don't know," Dino answered honestly. "We've got him stabilized and have treated his burns, but we can't seem to get his fever down. He's still unconscious, so the best we can do is let him rest."

"Can we see him?"

Dino began to say no, but the look in everyone's eyes begged him otherwise. "Sheesh...as long as it's only two at a time and you promise to be quiet."

"My rankings say that Momman and Kyoko would be best to go first," said Fuuta amid his sobs.


	3. Chapter 3 Waking

Tsuna woke to a blank white ceiling. Staring into nothing, he realized that he felt refreshed in a way that no sleep had ever done before. Then the memory of what had happened came flooding back, causing him to sit up abruptly and look around. He was in a hospital bed in an empty room. Looking down at his arm, there were multiple IVs attached and only then did he realize that there was a breathing mask strapped to his face. 

Carefully taking the mask from his head, he dropped it beside the equipment scattered around his bedside. His arms felt irritatingly cold and massively ached from the needles, so he pulled those out with a bit of a grimace. Panting a bit from the effort, he threw his legs over the side of the bed before he realized he didn't have the power to stand.

But he could feel it. The reservoir inside him waiting for him to call. He had succeeded. To test it, he gave the slightest of mental twist. In response, energy poured into his body. With a stretch, he stood with ease and walked to the window, fingering his Vongola ring that hung from his neck. He was reaching up to pull the curtains back when he realized his hands were covered in bandages. Curious, he began to reach down to unwrap them when a loud crash came from the door to his room.

Looking up, he saw a distraught Kyoko with a shattered vase of flowers at her feet. "Kyoko?" he asked. Before he could say anything else, she had already ran across the room and flung herself into his shocked arms. Through her crying, he could barely make out the words "You're awake" which she kept repeating over and over. Not really sure of what he should do, having never dealt with a crying Kyoko before, he just quietly held her until she calmed down. Finally, when she subsided to sniffles, he knew what to say.

"I'm sorry. I worried you, didn't I?" Backing away, she wiped her eyes on her sleeves and silently nodded.

"...telling you, I heard a crash coming from his room!" Gokudera was yelling as he burst through the door. Upon seeing a standing Tsuna, he dropped to his knees and immediately began begging forgiveness.

Typically, it would take him over ten minutes to placate Gokudera, but once again, Tsuna knew what to say for once.

"Thank you, Gokudera." Gokudera looked up at the smiling Tsuna and fell silent, utterly at a loss for words. Yamamoto, who had followed Gokudera into the room, walked over to Tsuna and stopped.

"You're looking well, Tsuna," he said with a smile and a careful pat to Tsuna's shoulder.

"I'll go and let the others know that he's awake!" Kyoko said, dashing out of the room before Tsuna could stop her. Gokudera noticed that she was blushing a bright red as she passed.

Tsuna turned back to the window to cover his own blushes, trying to control the cheering in his head from getting to hug Kyoko. But, once he opened the curtains, his mind and face went blank.

"How...Why..." His eyes widened at the sight outside the window. "W-Why is there snow on the ground?!"

"You've been asleep for three months, Tsuna," came Reborn's voice. Turning around, he saw Reborn sitting on the bedside. Utterly speechless from shock, he felt his knees start to buckle. Gokudera's guiding hand helped him find his way back into the bed while Yamamoto poured him some tea to calm him.

When he finally stopped shaking, he looked up at his two friends. "I..."

"Isn't it about time we got some answers, Tsuna? Before the others get here? Gokudera and Yamamoto deserve to know what you were doing," Reborn scolded.

Tsuna could only nod and gather his thoughts. Finally, he said, "If...if you think of my abilities and potential like a leaky water faucet, you can kind of understand. When it's not turned on, there's only a small drip. That's the me that's normally there. But a drip is really "No-Good" at all." For the first time ever, he could say those words without hurting. "You can't really do anything with it. But, when Reborn would hit me with the Dying Will Bullet or the Rebuke Bullet, it's as if someone suddenly turned on that faucet to let out a steady flow." Reborn and the others nodded. What he'd said made some sense so far. "Well, the plan was to replace the faucet, so to speak, with one that I could turn on and off myself." He blushed, though he couldn't really say why.

"I see," Reborn said. "But to do that, you had to get rid of the old 'faucet' first."

Tsuna nodded. "Right. If you keep with the image of a faucet, I forced so much "water" through that it blew off. I remember that my untrained body could withstand the Rebuke Bullet with only muscle pain as the side effect. I figured that with all the training I've been doing, my body would be able to withstand the backlash of a double dose."

"So," Reborn asked, "what went wrong?"

"Heh," Tsuna rubbed his forehead. "I did." At his friend's questioning looks, he continued. "I didn't take into account my own power. It seems that Reborn's bullets only remove's a person's limiters to a certain degree. I didn't realize that until it was too late. Blowing the 'faucet' off removed ALL my limiters. It was too much to handle and I was overpowered at first, so I wasn't prepared to control it."

"But in the end you did. Right, Tsuna?" Yamamoto said cheerfully and Gokudera gave a huge thumbs up. Tsuna looked up to his friends, feeling a sudden surge of warmth and relief. Tsuna smiled widely in return, his eyes shining.

"There's one thing I still don't get, Tsuna." Reborn said. "Why did you swallow the bullet? Why didn't you just have me to fire a second shot?"

Tsuna's eyes suddenly filled with sadness. He answered honestly, "I had to do it myself. To prove my resolution."

"I see." Reborn replied. "Well, I guess it's your turn to be filled in." Tsuna looked up in expectation and Reborn said in a serious tone, "First things first... You're an idiot." Reborn cracked a small smile as Tsuna's jaw dropped. He continued before the boy could formulate a reply. "Second! As I've already mentioned, you've been out of things for three months." Tsuna calmed as he realized Reborn was going to get serious. "You had first and second degree burns covering nearly your entire body. You can thank Dino and his medical team for your lack of scars. That is...except for your hands. Your right hand should be fine, but your left one will have scars due to frostbite. By the way, you are probably the only person who's ever gotten frostbite in the middle of a blazing inferno." Tsuna had the grace to blush. "As you know, your gloves were ruined. I tried to get Leon to make you a replacement pair, but he's been stubborn lately." Reborn stopped talking when he heard footsteps coming down the hall. "For now, the last thing I'm going to tell you is that you ran into a burning building to save an old lady's dog."

"What?!" Tsuna yelped. But before he could say more, a huge crowd came piling in his room bearing gifts, tears, and smiles.

"Everyone..."

* * *

Thanks to a bit of help from Dino, Tsuna was allowed to return home to complete his recovery after three days of medical test. Most of the bandages had finally been removed, though he still didn't have the courage to unwrap his left hand. After being told that it would scar, he was willing to leave it alone for now.

"Yo, Tsuna," Dino said, as Tsuna finished putting on his favorite "27" t-shirt. Dino grinned, "After seeing you in hospital clothes for so long, it's almost strange for you to be wearing a t-shirt and jeans again."

Tsuna grinned in return. "Well, I can't say it's strange for me. While three months passed for you, it was just a good night sleep for me."

"Tsuna...are you sure you're okay?" Dino asked with a frown.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, there's something different about you. I just want to make sure it's nothing bad since I can't really put into words what's different."

There was a glint in Tsuna's eyes, Dino noticed. "Well," Tsuna replied, turning to sit on the edge of his former bed, "that's understandable. What happened changed everything, after all." Tsuna smiled to reassure his blonde sempai. "I've always been a klutz, an idiot, a coward, and over-all a "No-Good" Tsuna. But now...after facing my own personal trial and proving my resolution, I've gained the power to change all that. It's almost like I've suddenly gotten a fresh slate."

Dino sighed to himself. "Well, as long as it's something that makes you happy, I won't complain. But..." Dino's face turned dark and Tsuna could feel the menacing aura coming from him. "If you ever do something that reckless again, you'll wake up to find Enzio waiting for you in your bathtub."

Tsuna found himself laughing at such a ridiculous threat, causing Dino to widen his eyes in surprise. "Sorry...It's just..." Tsuna said around chuckles, "...Enzio and..."

Dino grinned. "You really have changed, haven't you, Tsuna? Before, when I turned 'bad-boy' on you, you'd always scream and hide." Tsuna got control of his laughter and smiled in return.

"Well, I better get going. I still need to go by the school and pick up all my missed work." He threw on his jacket and waved a farewell as he finally left the hospital.

The school wasn't that far away, and he was determined to pick up his missing schoolwork before he returned home to finish recuperating. So, he set a determined pace and within ten minutes, he was walking through the school's courtyard. As he reached the door, his senses screamed, making him dive for his inner power. Barely, he was able to sidestep the metal tonfa aimed for his head.

Hibari looked at Tsuna with interest, a small smile playing at the corner of his lips. "Hmmm...it seems you were doing more than just recovering, Sawada."

"Nope, just enjoying a nice long nap." Tsuna replied, unable to keep the smile from his own lips. His eyes were lit and his inner self felt fully alive.

"Ah, so you've merely been truant. In that case, I'll have to bite you to death." Hibari once again swung his metal tonfa and once again, Tsuna sidestepped.

"Now, you really don't want to do that."

"And why's that?" Hibari asked, intrigued despite himself.

"Well, if you bite me to death now, it would take all the fun out of later." Tsuna couldn't help himself. But he wasn't trying to bait Hibari for sheer pleasure. He had a plan. One which Hibari would never agree to without being tricked into it.

"Fun, you say? From a herbivore like you?"

Tsuna grinned and shrugged. "Well, as you see, I'm still recuperating from my long nap. Plus, I haven't got my gloves with me. You remember my gloves from the ring battles, don't you?" Hibari's eyes narrowed. Tsuna looked at him in challenge, "It wouldn't be any fun to fight me before I finished sharpening my fangs, would it?"

Hibari sheathed his tonfas and left, a silent aura of anticipation being his only reply. As he turned the corner, out of sight, Reborn popped out of hiding and jumped on Tsuna's shoulder. Tsuna, on the other hand, leaned against one of the school entrance's pillars and closed his eyes to focus. When Hibari had attacked, Tsuna hadn't had time to gradually increase the flow of his inner flame. He had managed to access it without going to a level that would produce the Dying Will Flame on his head, but after three months of only sleeping, his body wasn't ready for any flame at all.

He panted as his body began to feel the burden produced from using his flame. Closing that out, Tsuna focused all his will on the mental twist needed to push the flame down to a manageable level. After a few moments, he opened his eyes and finally noticed Reborn.

"So," Reborn said, "what were you thinking, baiting Hibari like that?"

"I thought you were a mind-reader," Tsuna replied in jest.

"It's hard to read you lately," Reborn answered seriously, causing Tsuna to jerk a bit in surprise.

"Um, well," Tsuna said, trying to regain his composure as he made his way into the building. "Well, I've been doing nothing but sleeping for three months. Once my body's done healing, I'll have to start training again, right? I can do the basic training with you, but Basil isn't here for me to spar against anymore."

"So you want Hibari to spar with you?" Reborn smiled. "It might be fun."

Even though it was his idea, he couldn't help but shiver when Reborn referred to it as "fun". But before he could think about it anymore, he'd reached his classroom. From the sounds coming from inside, the class had just been released for lunch. As he slid the door open, a loud, angry voice exclaimed, "Don't call him "No-Good"!"

Tsuna stood in shock when he realized that it hadn't been Yamamoto or Gokudera, but Kyoko who had yelled. She had turned bright red in embarrassment but her face held a look that dared anyone to disagree. When she looked up and noticed him standing at the door, her face turned an even deeper shade of crimson and she ran from the room. Tsuna looked at Gokudera and Yamamoto in askance, but they could only shrug.

"What are you doing here, Tsuna? Shouldn't you be at home resting?" Yamamoto asked when he got close.

His answer was a bit distracted, "Um, well, I've missed quite a bit of school, so I was going to get my make-up work. That's the most I can do until I get the okay from the doctor to come back. But what was--"

Before he could finish voicing his question about Kyoko, he was ambushed by Hana. "So?"

"Eh? So what?"

"So, what's going on between you and Kyoko?"

"EH!? How should I know? I've been asleep for three months!" He turned red when he realized he'd shouted. Hana gave him a look full of suspicion, but was unable to say anything due to the appearance of the teacher.

"Ah! Sensei, I'm here to pick up my make-up work." He followed the teacher over to the filing cabinet where a thick packet of papers was handed over.

"Although, normally you'd be held back for missing so much school, it seems that Dr. Boreen has put in a good word for you. Thanks to that, the Dean agreed that if you finished all these assignments with passing grades, you'd be allowed to resume class as if you were never gone. However!" The teacher, ever vigilant in torturing his students, grinned wickedly. "These are harder than the ones that the class received. Think of it as my way of challenging you."

Tsuna's inner flame danced. "A challenge, you say?" He grinned and opened the packet. Indeed, these were much harder than anything he'd had to do before, but his mind was clear now. Just from looking at the top page, he could already see the answers. Unfortunately, he had a feeling that if he got every answer correct, he'd be accused of letting someone else do his work.

"Oi," he said to the teacher, "there's not much difference between relaxing at home and sitting at a desk, is there?"

The teacher looked miffed. "Physically, no."

"In that case, Sensei," Tsuna smiled with a dangerous look in his eyes, "you wouldn't have a problem if I relaxed in a desk while I did these, would you?"

Gokudera looked at Tsuna in amazement. "10th...!" The teacher grinned. He'd been trying to find a way to get Tsuna punished for skipping school so often, but the boy had wriggled out of it every time. Having seen Sawada's tests up until now, he had no doubt that kept away from outside resources, he'd fail.

"Very well. I'll even let you have a desk in the front row, center." This was, of course, the desk directly in front of the teacher's. Tsuna grinned. Perfect.

Over the course of the next two hours, page-by-page Tsuna went through three months of assignments while the rest of the class watched in bewilderment. They were free to watch since the teacher had announced self-study for the rest of the day. This way, the teacher only had to focus on his 'prey'. The students were glad, since this way they could murmur among themselves about this sudden change. No one had ever seen Tsuna act like this before. To not only challenge a teacher, but to voluntarily turn down the outside help he would have gotten had he taken the work home. It was unheard of.

Finally, Tsuna tapped the papers into a neat pile and stretched. Laying the pile on the teacher's desk, he left saying only "I think I'll go home to rest now." However, if anyone had been watching closely, in the middle of his stretch he had slyly given Kyoko a small wink. The reason for the wink was explained as Tsuna made his way across the school courtyard. From behind him, he could hear the words, "Impossible!" being repeated over and over again from the direction of his classroom.

"Oi, Reborn," he said to his tutor with a smile, "it seems I passed with flying colors."

"You look like you were having fun."

"Well," Tsuna said as he turned the corner, "I couldn't let Kyoko's words go to waste, now could I?"


	4. Chapter 4 Scars

Almost home, Tsuna thought as he walked down the street. His body was starting to ache from his over-use of his inner flame. Though he'd only increased it by the slightest amount to answer the teacher's challenge, it was still more than he had used since waking if you excluded his fight with Hibari. Reborn noticed sweat forming on Tsuna's brow from the effort.

"Maybe it's best if you turn the flame off for now," Reborn said.

"I...can't," Tsuna panted. "Turning it off...would kill me. But...don't worry...I turned it down...to a 'drip' again." Finally, his house appeared and at the sound of him opening the gate, his mother came rushing out.

"Are you okay, Tsu-kun?" she asked. "I called the hospital and they said you had left hours ago. I was worried." She helped him inside to the kotatsu set up in the living room.

"Thank you," he said, as he got settled. He truly was grateful. His body had felt like it was about to completely give out at the gate. She brought him tea and some snack crackers while he explained. "I felt fine when I left, so I decided to walk by the school and pick up my make-up work. But there wasn't that much, so I stayed there and did it. But don't worry, the teacher made sure I had a comfortable desk since I was being so studious," he lied.

"NA-NA?" A familiar voice interrupted from the front door. Before he could identify the owner of the voice, his father came rushing in the room. "Oh, Nana, I see you already found him."

"D-Dad?!" Tsuna nearly spilled his tea from surprise.

"Our son was being reckless again, dear," she said to him. Before she could say more, a loud rumble came from Iemitsu's and Tsuna's stomachs simultaneously. Tsuna blushed while his mother immediately decided to start preparing a late lunch.

Iemitsu plopped himself down on the other side of the kotatsu from him and crossed his arms. A tense silence piled up between them. Tsuna couldn't help but feel resentment bubbling inside at the sight of his unreliable father. "Shouldn't you be in Italy or something?" he asked, unable to stand the silence anymore. The question came out a bit harsher than he intended, but Iemitsu didn't seem disturbed.

"My cute little son just got out of the hospital. I got special permission to come and see that he was doing well," he replied, popping a cracker in his mouth and sipping his tea.

Anger built in Tsuna at the lie. "Don't you mean Vongola the 9th asked you to come check up on his heir?" he said, clutching the stem of his teacup.

Iemitsu slowly put down his tea and looked Tsuna in the eyes. Both of them were taken aback from the look in the other's eyes. Anger in Tsuna's and... sadness in his fathers?

The anger in Tsuna died. "Sorry," he said.

"It's to be expected, I guess," his father replied. "I haven't been around much these past few years. The 9th always has something he needs me to do. And you were right, he did ask me to come check up on you. But that doesn't mean I didn't also want to come."

Tsuna didn't know how to respond. Somewhere along the lines he had forgotten to look at it from his father's point of view. "Arrgg!" Iemitsu grumbled, rubbing the side of his head. "This is no good at all," he smiled and changed the subject. "So, how are you feeling? You looked like you were about to fall over when I first came in."

Tsuna relaxed. "I ache and I'm tired, " he answered honestly. "I used the flame a bit too much today and I wasn't ready for it. It's looks like I have to completely start my strengthening training over again."

They continued to chat for several minutes about different training techniques that Tsuna could use, when Iemitsu sighed. "Well, you're not going to be able to train fully until you get a new pair of gloves. Which reminds me, I have something for you." He went to the closet and pulled out a small flat box and handed it to Tsuna. "This is all we could find of your old gloves."

Opening the box, Tsuna looked at the remains of his gloves. Having been destroyed while transformed, the pieces of his black X-gloves stared back at him. They were neatly laid out and Tsuna could see how much was missing. None of the fingers were there, the wrist parts were cracked and burnt, the back part of the right glove was almost completely gone, and the left glove was missing it's palm. Worst of all, the largest piece of material laying arranged in the box was no bigger than his thumb.

"Honestly," his father said, interrupting Tsuna's introspection, "we tried to get Gianichi, the famous weapon's tuner, to try and fix it. But he said there wasn't enough to work with. He claimed that if he did piece it back together, it would be much weaker than the original pair and would probably explode under the slightest pressure. Reborn said it was better to not try, then."

"Is there any way that Leon could make me a new pair?" Tsuna asked quietly, depressed at the sight of his gloves.

"Well, we asked, but Reborn said he's being stubborn. What that means, I don't know." Iemitsu scratched his head and reached for a bottle of sake.

"He's upset," Reborn said, suddenly appearing beside the kotatsu with a cup of coffee. Leon was in his normal perch on top of Reborn's hat, but had his back turned to Tsuna and Iemitsu. It was almost as if he didn't want to look at them.

"I understand," Tsuna said bowing his head. Iemitsu and Reborn looked at him in curiosity. "Leon worked so hard to make me these," came the soft reply. "It's not like something you can go to the store and buy. He put a lot of thought and effort into it. And I destroyed them without thinking." Tsuna couldn't hold it in anymore. Tears began to fall unheeded down his face and Leon scurried up to his shoulder. Tsuna turned his head and looked at him. "Can you forgive me, Leon?"

The little lizard sat thinking, then without warning, jumped into the box in Tsuna's hands and wrapped himself around the shards of his broken gloves. Picking up Leon in his round cocoon-state, Reborn said, "Well, it looks like he's forgiven you, Baka-Tsuna."

Tsuna petted the green orb, as more tears fell. "Thank you," was all he could say.

* * *

Dinner that night was huge. Not only was there the enormous amount of food that his mother had made, but Yamamoto showed up bearing an extra-large sushi tray from his father and one by one, everyone else showed up bearing a bowl or plate of something. The last to appear was Kyoko and Haru with cakes they'd bought at their favorite store.

"Somehow, this turned into a party," Tsuna grumbled to himself, although part of him was insanely happy every time he looked at Kyoko.

"You should be happy," Reborn replied. "Your family is celebrating your recovery." Tsuna couldn't help but smile. It was true. They were all there for him. Two years ago, a scene like this would have only been a happy dream for him.

"Thank you, Reborn," he found himself saying.

"Hmph," Reborn smiled.

After everyone had finished eating and began breaking up into smaller groups to chat over juice and tea, Tsuna snuck out to the back porch. He'd been moving under sheer force of will for a while now and his body was starting to falter. He needed a moment to rest, but he didn't want anyone to worry about him.

The air outside was chilly and a light snow had begun to fall again. Wishing he had thought to bring a jacket out with him, he wrapped his arms tight to his body and sat down. Trying to focus on getting his body to relax, he watched the snowflakes slowly drift downward, one by one. His allowed his mind to wander as his body drooped from fatigue.

He was so tired that he didn't notice the person behind him until a blanket was wrapped around his shoulders. With a start, he looked up to see the worried face of Kyoko. "Are you okay, Tsuna?"

"Just fine!" He tried to smile, but found he didn't even have the energy for that. This only made the worry on Kyoko's face deepen. "Sorry," he apologized. "I didn't want to worry anyone again." She wrapped her own blanket tighter to her shoulders and sat down beside him.

"You do that a lot," Kyoko finally said sadly. "Always trying to take care of others, but forgetting to take care of yourself. You're incredibly kind, aren't you Tsuna?"

Tsuna blushed and leaned back against the side of the house as a wave of dizziness hit. Kyoko was actually praising him? "Um...eh..."

Kyoko smiled. "None of us really realized it before, how much you do for us. But, when you were asleep in the hospital, all of us could feel it." Kyoko looked out at the drifting snowflakes. "While you were gone, Gokudera was always grouchy and never seemed to smile. Yamamoto couldn't focus on his practice and kept getting struck out. Bianchi didn't cook hardly at all and Lambo would sometimes just get real quiet and sad. I--we--really missed you a lot, Tsuna," she said, finally looking over at him.

She blushed when she realized Tsuna had fallen asleep leaning against the house while she was talking. After a few seconds of surprise, she quietly got up to get help. Although, she turned red again when she opened the door and a pile of embarrassed people fell out onto the porch. Gokudera, being on bottom, had been the first to notice Tsuna's disappearance and had been the first to start eavesdropping. He began fussing for everyone to get off of him when a knuckle to his head from a masked Bianchi silenced him.

"Be quiet, Hayato. You'll wake him." That's when everyone looked over and noticed Tsuna's sleeping form that sat on the far edge of the porch. Iemitsu stepped past the mass of people that were slowly starting to unravel themselves.

Carefully picking his son up he whispered, "You really have decided to protect everyone, haven't you? Even to the point of trying not to let anyone worry." He looked up and smiled at the rest of Tsuna's family as he cradled the sleeping boy, "I'll put him to bed. Although, I'm sure he would want you guys to continue the party. He wouldn't want to wake up and find out he was a party pooper."

As he carried Tsuna upstairs to his room and tucked him into bed, he could hear the conversation and laughter pick back up from below. In his sleep, Tsuna smiled.

* * *

Tsuna woke with a growling stomach to the smell of breakfast. The fatigue from the previous day was gone. He jumped out of bed and got dressed in sweats, ready to get started on the day. When he came down, his father was already at the table eating.

"You're up early. What's with the outfit?" He asked, pointing to Tsuna's sweats.

Reaching for a slice of toast, Tsuna nodded. "I've got to get my stamina back up again, so I figured after I eat, I could go for a small jog." Both his mother and father looked at him as if he was an impostor. Nana yelped as she realized the cup of juice she was pouring was overflowing onto the table and ran to get a towel.

"I have a feeling you're going to be surprising us a lot," his father said. Tsuna looked at him cluelessly. "I never thought I'd hear you willingly say you were going to exercise," he laughed. Tsuna smiled and dug into his omelet, realizing this was the first time in two years he'd eaten breakfast without fearing it was going to be stolen. Reborn walked in, already dressed in his signature black suit and poured himself a cup of coffee. Instead of commenting on the work-out clothes that Tsuna was wearing, he said, "Leon's still in his cocoon-state, so I arranged a work-out partner for you."

Tsuna narrowed his eyes in suspicion. However, before he could reply, a knock came from the door. Having finished his breakfast already, Tsuna went to answer it. Unfortunately, standing outside was the person he feared.

"Sawada! Let's run to the EXTREME!" Ryohei yelled with eyes blazing, fired up by having someone to work-out with.

Tsuna could only sigh and agree.

* * *

An hour later, Tsuna returned home exhausted and dripping in sweat. He had ended up running around the city twice before Ryohei had decided they were going to run up the temple stairs six times. After that, Ryohei had wanted to go to the school and run up and down the bleachers until he had to go to class.

"Saved by the bell," Tsuna thought as he sank into a hot bath, careful to keep the bandages on his left hand dry. The heat calmed his screaming muscles and helped him relax. Apparently he relaxed a bit too much, because the next thing he knew, he woke to a kick in the head and he was sitting in a tub of luke-warm water. Rubbing his eyes, he looked over at Reborn.

"Hunh...How long was I out?"

"Only half an hour. Your father sent me up to see if you drowned." Tsuna pulled the plug out to let the water drain and dried off with a towel Reborn handed him. Up in his room, he pulled on the clothes he had prepared when Reborn said, "You'll have to take off those bandages sometime, Tsuna."

Tsuna bowed his head. "I know," he replied, leaning his back against the door frame. "Honestly, I know that it's already healed, but I can tell that the skin feels different than my other hand. The doctors said it would have scars, so I guess..." he looked at his tutor. "I guess I'm afraid to see what's under there."

"Waiting isn't going to make them go away," Reborn replied. "At least go have someone re-bandage it if you can't look yet. You've had the same one on since you left the hospital. Shamal doesn't treat men, but Ryohei knows how since he has to tape his hands for boxing."

"Y-You're right," Tsuna said. Without another word, he grabbed his jacket and slowly left the room. Having seen the scars on Tsuna's hand, Reborn decided to leave him alone for once.

Tsuna decided that the best place to wait for Ryohei was the clubhouse for the Boxing Club. He knew that the guy he needed would show up there eventually. When he went in, though, Ryohei was already inside.

"EXTREME!" Ryohei cheered. "You've finally decided to join the boxing club, Sawada!"

"No, no!" Tsuna said quickly, raising his hands to fend off Ryohei's enthusiasm. Before Ryohei could show his disappointment, Tsuna continued, "I actually came to see if you could re-wrap my hand." He raised his hand, showing how the bandages were loose and tattered.

"I see," Ryohei said, thumping a fist into his open palm. He motioned for Tsuna to sit on a bench beside the boxing ring as he pulled out a roll of wrapping from his gym bag. Silently, Tsuna looked away as the older boy began pulling off the old bandages. As the last of the wrappings fell to the ground, he heard Ryohei grunt.

"Are you sure you need me to bandage this, Sawada? It looks fine." In surprise, Tsuna looked down at his hand.

His face turned pale. Ryohei had meant 'fine' as in healed. But to Tsuna, it wasn't 'fine' at all.

The back of his hand was criss-crossed with scars. One...two...countless lines ranging from as wide as a finger to as thin as a needle. His memory allowed him to recognize the pattern as being the same as the ice-wrapping he'd created. Even though it had been a mental battle, his mind had affected his body and surroundings in an automatic response. That had been the reason that even his gloves had been destroyed by the source's heat.

Tsuna's hand began shaking as he turned his hand over. Looking at his palm, he realized that truly it wasn't multiple different scar lines, but one continuous line that wrapped around his hand multiple times. Due to partial healing, the line had been broken, though, and the lattice-work on his hand was the result. A small part of him felt a bit of relief when he noticed the scars didn't reach beyond his knuckles. His fingers were normal and fine.

But the back of his hand and his palm...

Tsuna's stomach started to rebel and he forced himself to look away. "Sawada?" Ryohei asked.

"Yes, just re-wrap it, please," he said in a trembling voice.

* * *

Tsuna fell into his bed, unconsciously cradling his scarred hand. It was still early in the day, but his mind and body felt completely worn out. Thinking back, he realized he should have expected it. He'd seen the scars Xanxus had received due to the Zero-Point Breakthrough. Yet he had still hoped.

Raising his bandaged hand so he could look at it, he told himself, "So this is the price for power."

"So you've seen," Reborn said, jumping up onto the bed beside Tsuna. Tsuna nodded wordlessly. "Are you regretting it?" the small hitman asked.

Tsuna thought about it. It was true that the sight of his hand had shaken him deeply. "No," he answered. "I did it because I felt that it was something I needed to do. Not only for myself, but to prepare myself to protect those around me. For that power, something like a scarred hand and missing three months of my life is a small price." Reborn couldn't help but smile a bit out of pride.

"It's good to see you thinking like a boss finally," he said seriously. "But with power comes a responsibility not to abuse it. You've always been the type to regret your inactions. Now that you have this power, you have to make sure you don't regret the actions you do take."

"I understand," Tsuna said after a large yawn. "Like that time with the teacher. I had to decide which was worse...the possibility of regret from making the teacher mad or the assured regret of not living up to Kyoko's belief that I wasn't 'No-Good'."

"As long as you know," Reborn said. Tsuna's agreement was disjointed as he drifted off to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5 Moving Forward

Over the course of the next two weeks, Tsuna trained his muscles. Alternating between running one day and weight training the next, he was slowly able to make it through the day without having to nap. He was still at the point that he could barely handle a marginal increase in his inner flame, however. Increasing the flame to the point it produced the Dying Will Flame on his head proved to still be nearly impossible. He had tried it and the moment he released the flame, he had passed out for several hours from exhaustion. Waking from that proved to be a painful ordeal. 

"I can't use the Dying Will Bullets on you anymore, but I can still help get your body in shape," Reborn told him as the second week of training started. "This week we're going to get more aggressive."

"Aggressive?" Tsuna asked with foreboding.

"We'll call it 'Spurt-Training'." Tsuna left the question unasked, but Reborn explained anyway. "Using short spurts, you'll increase your flame to the Dying Will point and train, then allow yourself to crash."

"It doesn't sound that different than what we did for the ring battles," Tsuna replied.

"It isn't. However, it's going to be harder on you. Not only will you have to control turning your flame up and down, but you won't be able to get the hyper-rest that you did before. If we time the training wrong, you could end up resting for more than a few hours." Tsuna remembered how Reborn had used the Dying Will Bullet to make him rest while training in the mountains. Since Tsuna couldn't control his flame in his sleep, he understood what Reborn was telling him.

"Are we going into the mountains for this?" Tsuna asked but Reborn shook his head.

"Starting tomorrow you've got the okay to return to school, but don't worry. I had a training area set up for you a while back, I've just been waiting for you to be ready to use it. You'll run before school to train your legs and stamina like normal, but after school we'll spurt-train. Since it's Sunday and the others are out of school, consider today a day off." Tsuna didn't need to hear that twice. He ran inside and changed out of his sweats. After giving Gokudera a call, he was out the front door in a flash.

Since waking, he hadn't been able to spend much quality time with everyone. The only time he did have awake and energetic was spent training mostly. For once, he wasn't collapsing with exhaustion so he wasn't going to let this time go to waste.

Within a few minutes, he was at the Namimori shopping district. The snow had finally melted but there were still vendors set up to sell hot winter treats. Waiting in front of a hot chocolate vendor was his favorite crowd. With a wave, he ran to join them.

* * *

For the next several hours, Tsuna was able to relax and have fun. Lambo was up to his usual shenanigans with I-pin. Yamamoto and Fuuta challenged him in the arcade. He had fun listening to the latest music that he'd missed with Kyoko and Haru. Gokudera made sure he got to see the mangas he had missed since he was asleep. Even Bianchi had fun trying to poison a slice of Tsuna's pizza when they stopped for lunch. 

Tsuna stopped at a vending machine to get Lambo a grape soda when he noticed Kyoko and Haru looking at store window display with shining eyes. Curious, Tsuna went to look. It was a run-down jewelry store, Tsuna saw. The display window wasn't much bigger than his window at home and the door was set back from the street, making it easy to pass by unnoticed. Looking in the window, Tsuna was surprised to see intricate rings and necklaces of beauty. The shop looked like the type to sell second-hand and pawned goods, but all the display pieces looked like new hand-made items created with precision and care.

As the two girls moved on to look at the next display window, Tsuna stepped back to read the sign over the door of the jewelry store. "Patchwork Jewelry?" he said aloud. No wonder the store looked run down. With the name like that, no one would be interested in shopping there. Tsuna looked in the display window again. Whoever had done the silver work was truly to be admired. The filigree inset into several of the rings looked delicate and easily broken, but he could tell it was something made to last a long time. He had a sudden urge to see what else the shop had to offer, with such amazing pieces in the window.

The door didn't have a bell, and when he entered, the storekeeper was nowhere to be seen. The room was slightly dusty and small, but tall display cases lined every wall. Looking at the nearest case, he was glad he had decided to enter. Not only silver work, but this shop seemed to deal with making jewelry out of every type of metal there was. He could see gold pieces on the far wall and some kind of light blue metal in the case to his left.

He stopped in front of a case labeled Titanium. The pieces in this case were less frilly and leaned more toward geometric inlay designs instead of filigree. He started to reach out to get a better look at one of the designs when a voice behind him stopped him.

"Demitirus Metal would be best for you, not Titanium," the voice said. Turning around, he saw a overly-muscular woman standing behind a short display case. She looked to be in her late 20s and wore a blacksmith's smock over her white cotton dress.

"Huh?" he asked automatically. He'd never heard of something called Demitirus metal.

"It's over here," the woman said, pulling out a tray of rings from under the counter. Curious , Tsuna went over to look. Neatly lined up on the try were plain unadorned rings made from some type of black metal. Looking closer, he could see patterns of flames lightly reflecting on the surface. "You can see it, can't you?" The woman said. He nodded, intrigued despite himself. When he looked at the rings again, it was almost as if the flames were dancing. "These aren't for sale, but if you like you can order one specially made for you," she said.

Before he could decide an answer, the door opened and a panicked Gokudera came flying in. "I was so worried, 10th! The girls said you disappeared! Everyone thought you might have collapsed somewhere."

"Ah," Tsuna said. "We better get back to them then." He looked back up at the muscle-bound woman as Gokudera pulled him toward the door.

She smiled. "Don't worry, this shop has been here for decades. If you decide you want one, just ask for Patchwork if I'm not here," he heard her say before he was pulled out the door and down the street to where a crowd of very anxious people were waiting.

* * *

The next day, Tsuna was telling Reborn about all the antics at the shopping center as he went on his morning run. When he got to the part about the jewelry store, Reborn actually seemed interested. 

"Oi, Tsuna," he interrupted from his perch on Tsuna's shoulder. "Are you sure she called it Demitirus Metal?"

"Um, I think so. She showed me some rings made out of it. When I first looked at them, the rings were black. But when I looked closer, I could see flames. They were really well-made. Some of the flames even looked real."

Reborn frowned. "Impossible," he said to himself. "The last person who could forge Demitirus died a long time ago."

"What is it anyways? I've never heard of the stuff."

"It's a special kind of metal forged using a Dying Will Flame." Tsuna stopped running to listen. "But not just any Dying Will Flame can be used. It's a special one called the Hephestus Flame. The metal itself is made using a recipe that's been lost for nine generations. Oi," Reborn said suddenly. "We're changing your running route. I want you to take me to that shop."

Tsuna nodded and set off. After running for ten minutes, they arrived in front of the shop. "I wonder if they're even open yet." Tsuna said, realizing that stores in this area typically didn't open for another hour. When he tried the door, however, it opened. Going inside, he saw that there was no one minding the store again. "Um...Hello...?" He called out.

Above him he heard a loud crash and the sound of footsteps. In seconds, a girl in his school uniform came rushing out from a door at the back of the store. "Um! Sorry for the wait!" she said hurriedly. "How can I help you?" She stopped in her tracks when she saw a boy her own age.

"Um, sorry to bother you, but actually I came to see if Patchwork would speak with me about a ring."

The girl's mouth formed an "O". "Are you here to get something for a girlfriend, perhaps?" she asked with a knowing smile.

Tsuna blushed. "Eh, no, no! I don't have a girlfriend." Before the girl could tease him anymore, Patchwork came through the door.

"So you came back, I see." She said as she put down a crate of supplies.

Tsuna turned his attention to the reason he'd come. "Um, yes. My tutor was telling me about those rings you showed me. He was curious and wanted to look for himself."

Patchwork narrowed her eyes at Reborn. "I didn't know you had an Arcobelano for a teacher." She shrugged. "Not that it really matters. I just make jewelry. Though," she turned to Tsuna, "what did you say your name was again?"

"Ah! Sorry, I don't think I was able to introduce myself yesterday. I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi, pleasure to meet you. Most people call me Tsuna for short."

"I see. Vongola the 10th. That explains the commotion yesterday," she replied.

Tsuna blushed. Reborn, on the other hand, said curiously, "You sure seem to know a lot."

"Word gets around," she replied as she pulled the tray of rings out from behind the counter.

Reborn jumped down to take a closer look as the younger girl exclaimed, "Mama, those are..."

Tsuna couldn't help but pick one up and look closer himself. "The flames really are stunning," he found himself saying. The one he was holding was etched with a twinkling blue flame that seem to flicker as he turned the ring around in his hand.

"You're positive you see flames in these, Tsuna?" Reborn asked.

Tsuna nodded, looking down at his tutor. "Don't you?"

Reborn shook his head and turned to Patchwork, who was smiling at Tsuna. Seldom did someone come into the store that could praise her true work. "How much?" Reborn asked.

Patchwork turned to Reborn, suddenly all business. "These aren't for sale." She said bluntly. "I can specially make him one, however, for ten million yen. Provided I approve of the boy's flame."

Tsuna blanched and dropped the ring back onto the tray. He didn't realize that the ring was worth THAT much. Reborn, on the other hand, started haggling. "Reborn! You can't be serious!"

"Tsuna," Reborn said seriously, "this is a once in nine generation chance to get a Demitirus ring. Do you really want to pass that up?"

It was true that somewhere deep inside, he wanted one. "But I don't have that kind of money!" Tsuna cried.

The girl began giggling until Patchwork snapped, "Aren't you going to be late for school?"

"Ahh!" Tsuna yelled, realizing the time himself. "I'm going to be late, too!" He left Reborn haggling with Patchwork and ran home at top speed.

* * *

Tsuna barely made it to class on time. A few students looked at him in awe, but otherwise, everything seemed normal. That's when he remembered what he had done the day he left the hospital. He cringed a bit when the teacher entered the room. 

However, the teacher had seemed to forget the incident. Or so Tsuna thought. Ten minutes before the teacher was supposed to dismiss the class for lunch he began writing an extremely difficult math problem on the board. Grinning maliciously, he called on Tsuna who stood in response. "The class will be dismissed for lunch as soon as you tell me the correct answer to this equation." The teacher sat in the chair behind his desk, fully expecting the class to turn on the boy when they were forced to miss their lunch break. The problem he had written had stumped university professors.

Then he noticed that Tsuna was grinning again. "It's just like last time," the teacher thought.

"So, if I answer correctly, we can leave for our lunch break now, correct?" The teacher nodded, sweating. "The square root of 7 divided by 'X' to the 13th power." Tsuna said as he walked out of the room. Behind him, he heard a very angry teacher dismissing the rest of the class.

Tsuna smiled as he walked to the school commissary. He had rushed out of the house too fast this morning and forgotten his bento. Behind him, he heard Gokudera come running up, "That was amazing, 10th! I would have needed at least a pen and paper to figure that one out!"

"Well," Tsuna said as he picked out a sandwich roll, "the truth is that even with the level of comprehension I get by using my flame, I don't think I could have shown my work on that one without taking an hour. You could say my intuition gave me the answer." They made their way back to the classroom where they met up with Yamamoto.

"Amazing!" Kyoko said, walking up with Hana at her side. "That was a really hard problem, Tsuna!" Tsuna couldn't help but blush.

"You've gotten pretty sharp lately," Hana said suspiciously as everyone moved their desks so that they could eat together. "Everyone's talking about it. There's a theory going around that the real reason you were in the hospital for three months was because of brain surgery."

Tsuna looked down, automatically cradling his still-bandaged hand at the reminder of his stay in the hospital. "No..." he said quietly, "it was a fire."

"Tsuna, I've been wanting to ask you," Kyoko piped up suddenly. "Big brother said that your hand was healed, but you still have him re-bandage it everyday."

Tsuna started to sweat. The truth was that he didn't want anyone seeing the scars. He could still barely look at them. But he didn't want to say that out loud. Yamamoto looked at Tsuna worriedly and changed the subject. "I heard about your new training grounds, Tsuna. The little guy said he was going to show it to all of us after school."

Tsuna looked up in interest. "He hasn't said anything about it since he told me one was being made. I wonder what it's going to be like."

"I'm sure it's incredible," Gokudera exclaimed as Tsuna started eating his sandwich. Thankfully, the conversation turned to normal banter after a few more speculations.

* * *

Afternoon meant gym class. The teacher had offered to let Tsuna sit out since he still wasn't 100 percet yet, but Tsuna refused. "I didn't get to finish my run this morning, so it's okay." With some apprehension, the teacher finally agreed and led everyone out to the sports field. 

He turned to the rest of the boys' class. "Listen up, we're doing a joint track day today. The girl's class will be on the first two inner tracks around the sports field. The boys will be on the next two. Ready? Lets go." The teacher set off at a pace designed to be easy for normal runners, but a challenge for slackers.

After half a lap, Tsuna called forward from his position at the back of the group, "Sensei, may I have permission to go to the outside track? This pace is starting to get to me."

The teacher had half-expected it. The poor boy had just gotten out of the hospital after being in a coma-like state for three months. It was likely his body had atrophied. "Go ahead, Sawada," he called back.

A few seconds later, Tsuna ran up beside him and gave off a quirky salute, "Thank you," he smiled. The next thing he knew, Sawada was already pulling ahead by leaps and bounds. Both the teacher and the class faltered to a stop in amazement. The sole exceptions were Gokudera and Yamamoto who had also jumped to the outter track without missing a step. They were right behind Tsuna in speed. Before the teacher could recompose himself and get the class moving again, Tsuna and the other two had already finished a lap. As they passed the class, the teacher noticed that none of them were even breathing hard. Instead, they were chatting amicably.

From behind him, the teacher could hear the class muttering. "So it wasn't just his head that was affected..." "Wow, he's turned into a monster..." "Is that really Tsuna?" "I wonder what kind of wonder-drugs the hospital gave him..." "That speed isn't normal..." The teacher couldn't blame their reactions and quietly got them moving again while asking himself the same questions.

In the bleachers, Reborn smiled. When class was over, Tsuna's group had done fifteen laps to the class' four. With a look of awe, the teacher ordered the boy's class to shower before going to their next class. Not long after, Tsuna was walking into the locker room shower with a towel around his waist when Yamamoto said, "You can't shower with those bandages on, Tsuna." Automatically, Tsuna cradled his hand.

"He can do whatever he wants, moron," Gokudera yelled, causing everyone else in the showers to turn their heads. Tsuna blushed, but for once he wasn't going to ask Gokudera to be quiet. He really didn't want to take off the bandage.

Yamamoto wasn't to be brushed aside this time though. "Tsuna, I might be a moron at times, but I can kind of guess why you don't want anyone to see your hand."

Gokudera stopped fingering his dynamite as Tsuna bowed his head to hide his face. "You should know that me and Gokudera have already seen what's under there while you were in the hospital. You don't have to show Kyoko or the others, but you should at least stop trying to hide it from us."

Tsuna's shoulders were shaking when he quietly said, "It's not just to hide it from you guys."

"Then why?" Yamamoto asked.

Tsuna suddenly looked up and yelled, "It's because I still can't look at it." He clasped his hands over his mouth and looked around to realize everyone was staring at him. In an instant, he bolted from the room.

Gokudera and Yamamoto could only watch him go. "10th..." Gokudera said sadly.

When they went looking for him, they found him in the Boxing Clubhouse. Apparently he'd used the club showers and had the ever-present Ryohei re-bandage his hand. He was now sitting on a bench with his legs pulled up to his chest and his head bowed.

Yamamoto walked up, instantly apologetic. "Tsuna, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you like that."

"It's my fault for letting him push you, 10th," Gokudera added.

"It's alright, guys, really," Tsuna said without looking up. "I'm okay with the reasons my hand is like this. I just have issues looking at it."

"I don't get it," Gokudera said simply.

Tsuna looked up, holding his hand out in front of him. "I can feel that it's my hand. The sense of touch, the control, it's all there. Right now, I can say without any doubt that this is my hand. But when I look at it without the bandages on... In an instant, it's like I'm looking at someone else's hand. My hand will feel like it's made of smoke and my stomach will twist in knots. And...I hate that feeling." Tears welled up in his eyes. "I just hate it."

"So that's why you leave it bandaged," Dr. Shamal said from the door. The three boys turned in surprise.

"Where did you come from?" Yamamoto asked.

"Ah, a cute little lady came asking if I'd seen you three since you weren't in class. She begged me to find you, and who am I to turn down a ladies' request?" He looked over at Tsuna. "I refuse to treat men, but I am willing to give you a bit of advice." Tsuna jumped up. "That feeling you hate isn't going to go away by keeping your hand bandaged. The only way to make that feeling go away is to make your heart and mind accept reality. In other words, by making yourself look at it on a regular basis. When that part of you that's in denial accepts the truth, your hand won't feel like smoke anymore." Tsuna's heart sank at every word.

"Y-You're right," Tsuna said in despair. "I've been running away again, haven't I?"

Gokudera put a hand on Tsuna's shoulder to comfort him. "It's alright, 10th. Everyone runs away from something." He smiled broadly, "I run away from my sister all the time!"

Yamamoto grinned. "It's okay, Tsuna. We'll help you face it."

Tsuna smiled. It would be okay. He had his Family, after all. Ever so slowly he raised his hand and started unwrapping it. When the bandages fell to the floor, Tsuna made himself look at the scars on his hand squarely. Like usual, his stomach clenched and his hand began to feel disjointed from the rest of his body. However, he could tell the the effect was slightly less than before.

"See? Now, you three better get back to class." Dr. Shamal said as he left looking for a pretty girl. The three nodded to each other and set off at a run. The teacher was furious that they were late and gave them all extra homework. Apparently he decided to try quantity over quality.

As Tsuna walked past Kyoko's desk to get to his own, her hand flew out and grabbed his. The class stared. Not because she had grabbed his hand. And not because he turned red, but because he turned white. All the blood had drained from his face the moment she touched his left hand. He had forgotten about Kyoko when he decided to take the bandage off. Snatching it back, he fled to his desk without looking at her. He could feel every eye in the room on him, so he hid his hand under his desk until the teacher had demanded attention again. Tsuna couldn't focus for the rest of the lecture due to horror.

What had Kyoko thought when she saw the scars? Did she not care? Was she sad? Was she disgusted? For the rest of the class, Gokudera and Yamamoto kept throwing him reassuring looks, while the rest of the class kept looking back curiously. They all wanted to see his hand now.

Finally, the last bell rang. Tsuna stayed seated with his hand hidden. His stomach clenched when he realized Kyoko was walking toward him. When she stopped in front of his desk, everyone stopped pretending to linger and openly stared. He could feel Gokudera and Yamamoto's supporting presence at his back, but he still turned deathly pale when Kyoko put out her hand. "Let me see it again, please?"

The rest of the class inched forward as he slowly pulled his hand out from under his desk. Tsuna couldn't look up. He was afraid of what Kyoko's reaction would be. She took his hand in hers, and using her other hand, gently traced the scar lines with her finger. The sensation sent pleasant shivers down his spine. In the end, it was Kyoko who broke the silence. "Big brother was right. It healed up just fine." Her cheerful voice swept away his fear and his stomach unclenched. Looking up, he was relieved to see nothing but genuine happiness on her face.

Tsuna sat in awe, completely deaf to the murmurs and knowing looks around him. That is, until she dropped his hand. Then he turned so red that a tomato would have been jealous.

The class finally dispersed having solved the mystery behind what Tsuna had been hiding beneath the bandages. Reborn still hadn't appeared, so the group gathered their things and headed out the door. When they reached the courtyard, a hand suddenly reached out and grabbed his wrist. Tsuna moved to dodge, but wasn't fast enough.

"Can I help you?" Tsuna said to Hibari.

The other boy ignored him and raised Tsuna's hand to eye level. By now, the rest of the group had reacted, automatically getting into defensive positions. Kyoko stood cluelessly watching.

"So this is what you were hiding, Sawada." He looked at Tsuna's scarred hand with interest. "This doesn't seem like the type of scar one would get from burns."

Tsuna gritted his teeth. He tried moving his arm, but Hibari's grip was like a vise. He could pull out more power and do it, but he knew that doing such a thing would screw up his training schedule. So, doing the only thing he could, he answered Hibari, "It's from frostbite."

The other boy looked at him in amusement. "I was told you were caught in a fire."

Tsuna glanced over at Kyoko before staring Hibari in the eyes. He hoped the Disciplinary Head would get the picture. "You weren't misinformed," Tsuna grinned. "Just left a bit out of the loop on the details."

Fortunately, Reborn chose that moment to appear. "Hibari, Tsuna's still pretty weak. If you don't let him go, he'll miss out on his afternoon training. That would mean it will be longer before he's any fun."

Hibari released Tsuna's wrist and stepped back. "Pity," he said before sauntering off.

"What was that all about?" Yamamoto asked as Gokudera continued swearing about Hibari.

"Are you ready, Tsuna?" Reborn questioned, ignoring the others. Tsuna nodded. "Then follow me. I'll take you to your new training area."

As they walked, Tsuna wondered where they were being led. Part of him expected them to head for the Dojo District or maybe Reborn had borrowed some rich guy's mansion that had a lot of open grounds for them to use. He was totally unprepared for the reality.

"The entertainment district?" Tsuna asked as they walked past a movie theater, an arcade, and a karaoke bar in quick succession. Reborn just smiled and stopped in front of the next building.

"We're here." Tsuna looked up at the sign over the door.

"Black Glove Mountain?" he read. Looking at the line outside the place, he became interested. Haru happened to be in line and waved them over to her.

"Tsuna!!! So you guys were interested in the ad, too?"

"Ad?" Tsuna asked.

"Don't tell me you didn't know. This place is the newest hot spot in town. They say there's a rock climbing wall half as tall as the building. If you can climb it in five minutes, you get to put your name into a prize drawing. Then, at the end of every week, someone's going to win an amazing prize! They say there's smaller rock walls with smaller prizes, too!"

Tsuna turned to Reborn. "Well, rock-walls aren't that different than climbing a cliff, I guess. But what am I going to do when I crash?"

"Hurry and jump in line with me while no one's looking!" Haru interrupted, pulling on Tsuna's arm.

Reborn smiled. "No need for that, Haru. Tsuna and all of you can go straight on in."

Tsuna looked at the little hitman with suspicion. "Are you sure that's okay? You're not trying to get me to fight an angry mob, are you?"

"Just go," Reborn answered. "You'll see."

Tsuna was a bit anxious, but walked to the front of the line. Several of his classmates were there. They all started grumbling as Tsuna walked up to the attendant. "I'm sorry, you'll have to go to the back of the line. Only fifty people are allowed in the building at once," she said without looking up. His classmates smirked and pointed to the back of the line...which was somewhere around the block.

"What now, Reborn?" Tsuna sighed. At the name Reborn, the attendant's head flew up and her eyes widened. She immediately started apologizing to the disgruntlement of the onlookers.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't realize. I'm so, so very sorry." She was obviously flustered and apologetic. He'd seen this reaction before from people that thought they were about to lose their job. "Is-Is this him?" She asked Reborn, and pointed a trembling finger at Tsuna.

"Yup," his tutor replied. "This is him."

The woman fell to her knees in front of Tsuna and bowed her head, frantically asking for forgiveness. The crowd, his classmates in line, and Tsuna's group were now thoroughly confused. She stayed bowed, seeming to wait for something.

Tsuna started to turn red, "Um, eh, there's nothing to forgive. You don't have to do that. I'm just--"

The attendant quickly stood up and turned to Reborn, bowing her head in shame. "I'm so sorry for my rudeness. I wasn't expecting you to bring the owner today."

"EH?! Owner?!" Tsuna wasn't sure if he was the one that said it, one of his friends, or the crowd. But everyone was thinking the same thing.

Reborn smiled again, having fun. "That's right, Tsuna. You own this place. Most of the daily operations will be taken care of by some managers and staff that have been set up, but you have the final say on everything that happens to this place." Looking at the crowd, Reborn seemed to decide something. "I'll finish explaining inside."

Tsuna could barely follow in his wake. He was still a bit numb from shock and surprise. The attendant called another staff member to lead them to a small meeting room where coffee and tea was served. "What the hell is going on, Reborn?" Tsuna spluttered finally as the woman led everyone else on a tour of the place.

Reborn sighed. "The 9th had decided that it was time for you to start setting up a legitimate business front and sent me the funds to create one. Whether it stays legitimate or not is up to you, but the 9th felt it was prudent to be prepared for anything. Since you had need of a training area, I combined the two and came up with this place. I figured that you'd be pleased. After bills, paychecks, and upkeep fees are paid, any profits from this place go straight into your pocket, after all." He handed Tsuna a gold debit card. "That will give you direct access to your account. The most you ever have to do is come once a month and check over the account ledgers."

Tsuna looked ready to pass out. Reborn was obviously having fun torturing Tsuna with this overload of information. "Oi, by the way, you've already made 6 million yen since this place opened a week and a half ago." At that, Tsuna really did pass out.


	6. Chapter 6 Black Glove Mountain

Tsuna woke, feeling the comfortable spring of a mattress beneath him. It had all been a dream, he thought. He turned over, thinking how screwed up it was that Reborn tortured him even in his dreams. 

"It wasn't a dream," came Reborn's voice.

Tsuna bolted up. Looking around, he realized he wasn't in his own room. "Where am I?" he asked. The room was small but warm. The carpet was plush, as was the blanket on top of him. The wall over the bed held a tapestry of the Vongola crest. Across the room, he saw an open door leading to a private bath and shower. On the wall next to another door, the assumed entrance, was a small leather couch holding Reborn and a stranger.

"We're still in the facility. You collapsed from shock," the stranger said. Looking at him, Tsuna realized that the man was younger than he'd first thought. Probably still a high school student. The young man stood and walked over to where Tsuna still sat in bed. Reaching down and grabbing his wrist, the man looked at his watch as he checked Tsuna's pulse. After a minute, he smiled. "You seem just fine now, though."

"Who--?"

"Nice to meet you, Sawada-dono. I'm called Sakura," he said with a small blush. "I know it's a girl's name, but I was tagged with it several years ago and haven't been able to get rid of it. As of today, I'm your family's private physician."

"Eh?!" Tsuna looked past him to where Reborn was sitting with the cocoon-Leon in his lap.

"Dr. Shamal stubbornly refuses to watch over your training, so I asked Sakura to do it. You'll need someone here to make sure you and the family stays in good health. Dr. Shamal is too wishy-washy to suffice anymore."

Tsuna looked at Sakura curiously. "Aren't you only a high school student?" he asked.

"Don't misjudge him because of his age, Tsuna. He trained under Dr. Shamal for several years before getting his medical degree at the age of 15."

"Wow," Tsuna started to say when he stopped. "Wait. Under Dr. Shamal for several years? How did you manage that? Gokudera could barely get his teaching for a week."

Sakura face turned an even deeper shade of red. "Lets just say that it has to do with how I got tagged with the name Sakura."

Tsuna didn't get it, but he let the matter drop as he stood up out of the bed. "So, we're still at Black Glove Mountain?"

Reborn nodded. "You were out for almost an hour, so lets leave the rest of the explanations for later and get to your training."

Tsuna and Sakura followed him out the door. Outside was a enormous room. Looking up, Tsuna could see that the ceiling was at least twenty stories high. One wall was completely covered by a smooth-looking protrusion. In front of it lay a thick mat he recognized as what gymnasts used to protect them when they fell. This one seemed to be almost as tall as he was.

The sound of a blade cutting wood diverted his attention. Yamamoto was training with his sword against some wooden pells on the other side of the room. Faster than Tsuna could keep track, Yamamoto swung. The pells split like they were butter.

In the center of the room, Gokudera stood in a defensive stance at the center of a wide circle. Looking up, he could see the targets Gokudera was focusing on. Three small robotic discs were buzzing around in an erratic pattern. With the slightest of movements, he unleashed a rocket bomb toward the closest one. Gokudera cursed as the disc dodged.

Lastly, Tsuna looked over to see Ryohei shadow-boxing in front of a mirror that spanned an entire wall. Haru and Kyoko were nowhere to be seen. Nor did he see any of the multitude of customers that had been waiting in line outside the facility.

Seeing his curious look, Reborn explained, "Since you won't be able to focus until I explain," he pointed to the mirrored wall. "The other side of that wall is the facility for the customers. Kyoko and Haru are playing on the rock walls out there." He pointed to the flat wall that he had first looked at. "This is your wall." Reborn walked up to the site of the twenty-story-tall installation and touched something behind it.

The wall reacted. Four small squares protruded. By now, his friends had noticed his appearance and came close. Ignoring them, Tsuna jumped up on top of the gymnast mat and over to the wall. There he inspected the protrusions that had popped out. "These are?"

"Grips for your hands and feet, so that you can climb." Tsuna didn't quite understand. "Just try it," Reborn encouraged.

Nodding, Tsuna grabbed a hold of the first set and put his weight on them, testing them out. "You are now in the 'ready' position," Reborn said as another set above him appeared. "When you touch that next set, the training starts."

Reaching up and grabbing hold, Tsuna understood what Reborn had meant. He wasn't able to hold on for more than half a second before the next one appeared and one of his footholds disappeared. Letting go, Tsuna landed softly back on the mat as the handholds and footholds continued to crawl up the wall at an alarming rate. Within a few seconds, they were completely out of his reach.

The reason for the incredible thickness of the gymnast's mat suddenly dawned on him as he looked up. The wall really did reach twenty stories high. He had a feeling that if that mat wasn't there, he'd be hurting with more than just muscle fatigue at the end of the day.

"I see," Tsuna said. "This time getting to the top isn't the only problem. I have to keep moving or the handholds and footholds I'm using will disappear and I'll fall."

"Exactly," Reborn said. "Not only that, but I can adjust the timing later on so that the appearance and disappearance of your footing is even faster or even randomized. Also," Reborn continued, "The goal isn't only to climb up, but back down within five minutes. Since this isn't as tall as the one you used to climb, the effort required by climbing down instead of falling should make up the difference."

"Extreme training!" Ryohei said with blazing eyes, obviously wanting to try it himself.

"Amazing, 10th!" Gokudera exclaimed at the end of the explanation. Tsuna could only give a faltering laugh.

"But, isn't that too fast for him?" Sakura asked.

"Nothing's too much for him, you idiot!" Gokudera automatically reached for a stick of dynamite. "Who are you anyway? If I don't like the answer--"

"Ah!" Sakura yelled, diving behind Yamamoto. Yamamoto, for his part, just watched cheerfully until Reborn introduced the newcomer.

"This is the Family's new personal physician, Sakura. Since Tsuna's going to be training with the strength of the Dying Will Flame again, this guy is here to make sure he stays in one piece. Tsuna's body still can't handle that much flame yet, so after two minutes," Reborn pulled out a stopwatch, "Tsuna will end up crashing."

"I'll also be working with each of you to make sure you stay in peak condition," Sakura said, suddenly confidently. "I'll be here to treat any of your injuries that might happen during training. From muscle strain to massive heart failure, I'm trained to take care of it all."

Reborn turned to Tsuna. "Remember, for now, you only have two minutes. More than that and you might end up sleeping a week. When the timer goes off, it doesn't matter where you are or what you are doing, release your flame back down to it's lowest setting."

Tsuna nodded. He knew better than anyone what the possible consequences were for over-use of his flame. He also knew how hard this training was truly going to be. Without his gloves, the strain on his body was going to be incredible. But he had to do it.

Reborn hit the reset switch on the installation and Tsuna got into the 'Ready' position again. His friends watched worriedly.

Reborn gave him a countdown. When he reached one, Tsuna instantaneously increased his flame until the orange flame burst from his head. He began to climb. He was barely able to stay ahead of the wall's speed, but only barely. Twice he lost his footing and only sheer determination allowed him to scramble up as the next set of handholds appeared.

Six or seven stories of his way up the wall, he heard Sakura's voice yell up. "Three...two...one...! Release it, Sawada-dono!" Following orders, he released his flame. For a few seconds, Tsuna thought he might be okay and started to reach for the next set of handholds. Then darkness swept over him from every direction and he fell.

* * *

Sakura was the first to reach Tsuna's body when it landed on the mat. Sweat was already steaming off his body. Carefully stretching him out, he ignored Gokudera's threats and curses. He did a quick once-over, checking his pulse, temperature and other vitals before turning to the others. "He's fine," he said, calming Gokudera considerably so that Yamamoto didn't have to retrain him. "A bit fevered, but not too bad. I'd estimate he'll be awake in only an hour if we get him into a warm bed now." 

Yamamoto and Gokudera pulled Tsuna's arms up onto their shoulders. The younger boy just hung limply between them. They nodded to each other and wordlessly began carrying Tsuna back into his resting room.

"It seems that his training up until now paid off. It was much worse last time he tried using a flame of that level." Reborn said to Sakura when the others had returned to their self-training. "He might be able to catch up faster than we hoped, depending on the muscle pain when he wakes."

"I wouldn't do more than one or two sessions a day," Sakura warned placing a cold cloth on Tsuna's eyes and forehead. "Doing too much at this stage could have the opposite effect."

"You're the doctor. Well, I'll be at the Juice Bar in the public facility. Have Tsuna come out there when he wakes."

Sakura nodded, already engrossed with taking care of his patient. Reborn smiled. New family member acquired.

* * *

Tsuna woke to screaming muscles. Carefully, he sat up, painfully aware of how thirsty he was. Before he could look around to look for something to drink, Sakura was at his side with a large glass of water. 

"This should help the dehydration, Sawada-dono, but you really need more nutrients than what plain water will give you," he said as Tsuna hungrily drained the glass. "Reborn probably already expected this, though. He's waiting for you in the Juice Bar when you feel up to it."

"This place has a Juice Bar?" He panted.

Sakura nodded. "Most of the public facility isn't complete yet, but other than the rock climbing walls there is the Juice bar, a gift shop, and an extensive locker room for both genders with hot springs and a sauna. Those are the only areas open so far, which is why there's an occupancy limit. The second floor has three swimming pools for different uses and the third floor has a weight-training facility still being constructed. There are three other floors that are still empty above that. Reborn said those would be left alone until you decide what you want there."

Tsuna sat in wonder. "So, the public part of Black Glove Mountain is like a recreational gym or something?"

Again, Sakura nodded. "This area we've been using is actually called Sawada Dojo."

Tsuna choked. "A-And this is all mine?"

With a smile, Sakura said, "More than just wanting you to have a legitimate business front, I think the 9th wanted you to understand what it felt like to be responsible for a large number of people. I think it's his way of trying to help train you."

"I-I see." Tsuna still felt shaky at the prospect, but he understood when explained that way. Sakura helped him out of the bed. He ignored his screaming muscles to the best of his ability. His legs still felt a bit wobbly, but he could stand.

Following Sakura out, he waved to Gokudera, Yamamoto, and Ryohei to let them know he was alright. They waved back then returned to their self-training. Walking past Ryohei, Sakura showed him the nearly invisible door inset beside the wall of mirrors. When it opened, a blast of laughter and noise assaulted him.

Immediately to his left was the entrance to the juice bar. Looking up, he realized that the ceiling only reached around five stories tall in comparison to the height of the twenty story area he had just left. Curious, Tsuna ignored the Juice Bar and went to look at he rest of the facility. Sakura silently followed him.

Out the front doors, he could see the line on the street hadn't shrunk. As a group of people left, however, the attendant at the door let more people in. He watched as the people walked up to the reception desk to pay and get paired with a safety professional. Still curious, he followed behind that group as they were led around the corner. Peeking around to see, Tsuna saw as the trainer helped them get into harnesses and gave them a quick safety lecture.

Looking around, he saw all the walls had rock wall installations on them. Unlike the one he trained on, however, the handhold and foothold grips were stationary on these. There were also safety lines attached to the climbers and everyone wore helmets.

Then he noticed the 'prize-wall' that Haru had mentioned. This wall wasn't much different from his own, only differing in height. Like his own, the handholds and footholds disappeared, although at a rate much slower than the one he trained on. As he watched, a challenger stepped up and got ready to try to beat it. Like everyone else, he was wearing safety equipment.

He managed to get half-way up before losing his footing. Tsuna's heart leaped as he expected the boy to fall. But his worry was needless. The challenger hung there in mid-air grumbling at his own failure as his friends laughed excitedly, cheering him on to try again. The boy was carefully lowered to the ground with the ropes attached to his safety harness by the trainer that was with them.

Tsuna turned back to Sakura. "I never would have thought that people would consider this fun."

Sakura shrugged, "Honestly, it's probably only a passing fad, but if it makes them want to exercise, I see no harm in it." He waved for Tsuna to follow him and led the way back to the juice bar.

Inside, Reborn was nowhere to be found. Sakura didn't seem to mind, though. He led him up to the counter, past the line of waiting customers. Before the people in line could start complaining, however, the kindly, wrinkled man behind the counter greeted them cheerfully and left the line of customers to his assistant.

"Oi, if it isn't my favorite Doctor. How are you today, my dear young man?" Tsuna lost his hesitation. "Would you like your usual?" he asked.

"No, I was actually hoping I could have you mix me something for Sawada-dono," Sakura said carelessly.

The man's face went blank. "Sawada-dono?" He looked over at Tsuna, seeming to have trouble comprehending something. "T-T-This is the owner...?"

Tsuna had sudden flashback to the attendant's response at the entrance. He decided he had better take control before the poor man did something embarrassing. He stepped forward, "Hello, I'm Tsuna. It's a pleasure to meet you...?" He held out his hand. After a moment, the man nervously shook his hand.

"People around here call me Mr. Guru, Sawada-dono," he said with a respectful bow.

Tsuna forestalled him, "Please," he asked sincerely, "I'm still not used to people calling me Sawada-dono and acting like that. I'm still just a student, after all. Just call me Tsuna." Apparently it was the right thing to say. The man finally relaxed and his eyes regained their former cheer.

"So, what can I get for you?"

"I'll take my usual, but if you could mix up Sawa--err--Tsuna a glass of banana, plum and strawberry, extra thick, I'd appreciate it." The man turned and started pulling out fresh ingredient from the refrigerators stashed under the counter.

"Banana, plum, and Strawberry?" Tsuna asked, which set Sakura off on a lecture about the benefits of the fruits that Tsuna only half-remembered afterward. Thankfully, Mr. Guru didn't take long. What he gave Tsuna was more of a shake than a glass of juice, though.

Sakura let the man get back to serving the line of customers without fuss, and looked around for somewhere they could sit. There were tons of seating areas, but they all seem to have at least two people occupying them. Tsuna looked at the booths stationed along the walls. Most of them were filled with schoolgirls who seemed to be huddled around some kind of small installation in the wall.

But he noticed one booth in the back, seemingly empty. He waved Sakura to follow him and made his way over. When he reached the table, he realized he was mistaken. There was a single girl already there that he hadn't seen due to the high back of the seats.

Surprised, Tsuna exclaimed, "H-Hana?! What are you doing here?"

"Oh," she said with a bored look in her eyes. "Kyoko called ten minutes ago and said she wanted me to meet her here. I should have known you'd be here." Then she caught sight of Sakura and Tsuna could see her calculating his age in her head. Apparently it was a calculation she liked, because her eyes lit up and she asked them to join her.

"So, who's this with you, Tsuna?"

"Um, eh," He had a sudden bad feeling as he sat down.

Before he could formulate his reply, though, Sakura was already introducing himself. "I'm Sakura, Sawa--err--Tsuna's private physician."

Hana's eyes lit up again. "You're a doctor?"

As the two continued to chat along, Tsuna took a drink of his shake. It was surprisingly good. He let his mind wander as he drank. Sakura was giving Hana a lecture on the wonders of the fruits she was drinking and Hana seemed to be in rapt fascination.

"What's this?" Tsuna interrupted, catching both their attention. It was the same installation he'd noticed in the other booths. There was a television screen with buttons surrounding it. The three across the top said "highlights", "replay", and "live feed" and ones going down the left side had symbols instead of words. From top to bottom there was button with a sword, a spark, a fist and a fish.

With a sinking feeling, Tsuna pushed "live feed" and the sword button. On the screen, an image of Yamamoto practicing swings with a kendo stick popped up. Pressing the spark button proved to be Gokudera and the fist showed Ryohei. Tsuna groaned.

Suspicious, Hana reached over and pressed the fish. Tsuna turned red, it was his own training area on the screen. "No one's there," she complained. Before he could stop her, she reached up and switched from "live feed" to "replay". An image of Tsuna climbing the wall appeared. He was interested to notice that the replay seemed to switch from multiple angles. When it went to a close-up, he was amazed at the look of concentration and determination on his own face.

For the next two minutes, he couldn't help but watch. He couldn't believe that this was a video of himself. As the video continued, Tsuna remembered what had happened afterwards. Thankfully, it cut off before he'd crashed.

As Hana looked from the video screen, to Tsuna, and back to the screen, Reborn made his appearance holding a cup of purple juice. "So," he asked, "what do you think of the place?"

Tsuna turned red again. "Why were we recorded?!" he squealed.

Reborn smiled as he laid cocoon-Leon on the table. "You didn't think that your 6 million came from just people climbing rock walls, did you? The juice bar makes twice as much as the gym area because girls want to come watch videos of you four. Well, not you, but the others. The opening of the live feeds were the main attraction today. We've only had the highlights section of the video feeds up before."

Tsuna looked at him blankly as he continued, "Most of your profit comes from sales in the gift shop though. I hear the Yamamoto postcards are selling exceptionally well."

"How--Why--How--" Tsuna spluttered ignoring Hana's presence. "Do the others know about this?!"

"Yup," Reborn confirmed. "They were shown during the tour. Supposedly when he found out it was to help your facility, Gokudera was the first to demand he start practice."

"Wait a moment," Hana interrupted. "His facility?" She chucked a thumb at Tsuna.

"Oi, didn't you tell anyone at school anything?"

"You know I didn't!" Tsuna squealed.

Reborn turned to Hana and started talking before Tsuna could stop him. "So you didn't know Tsuna was the heir to the Vongola family? Or that his Family is known worldwide for their power and money?"

"Reborn!" Tsuna yelled before Reborn could say anything about the mafia. "You didn't have to say that!"

Hana sat dumbstruck as Reborn told Tsuna, "Hana has connections with Kyoko and Ryohei. She would have found out sooner or later."

"Wait, so Kyoko knows?" Tsuna turned pale.

"It was explained during the tour while you were passed out."

Tsuna could only moan. Reborn always had a way of turning things upside down right when he'd gotten comfortable. He should have known.


	7. Chapter 7 Intrusion

Before Tsuna could wrap his mind around the situation, Kyoko and Haru walked up. From their wet hair, he assumed they'd been in the girl's indoor hot springs. 

Hana jumped up and slammed her hand on the table, "You didn't tell me you boyfriend was rich, Kyoko!"

Tsuna and Kyoko both turned bright red.

"She's not..."  
"He's not..."

They looked at each other, their faces going from red to purple in an instant.

"Hahi?" Haru said, surprised. A tense silence piled up, as everyone was afraid to be the first to speak.

In the end, it was Sakura who diffused the situation by grabbing Kyoko and taking her to the juice bar. He was talking quickly as he pulled her away, trying a bit to obviously to draw her attention away.

"When did you start going out?" Haru asked in a sad voice.

"I already said, we're not!" Tsuna cried as Hana gave him another suspicious look. He turned to her, "Why did you have to go and say all that?"

Hana seemed unphased, "Well, though it's not official, you two might as well be. She's not hanging around you because her brother is there, after all. And you're pathetically obvious with how you look at her."

Tsuna's legs gave out and he fell back into his chair, covering his hands with his face. This was just too much for him to handle. Today had been hell for him. First his teacher, then the confrontation about his hand, then dealing with Hibari, then his sudden ownership of Black Glove Mountain, then his training session, then finding out that he and his friends were being shown off for profit and now this.

He could feel his pulse pounding in his temples. His nerves felt like they were rubbed raw and he wasn't sure he could take much more.

Then he was positive, as a wave of dizziness struck. "Reborn..." he said.

"Yah," his tutor said, "Maybe I pushed you a bit too far." Reborn called Sakura over to help Tsuna back to his resting room as Kyoko and Haru looked over him worriedly. Hana just at back down, looking disgruntled.

Once through the door and into the Dojo, Gokudera, Yamamoto, and Ryohei started to walk toward him. His pitiful state was obvious in his weary and stumbling walk. He waved them away. At the moment, he wanted nothing more than to lay down.

Sakura guided him to his room where Tsuna literally collapsed into the bed, unconscious before his head hit.

* * *

Tsuna woke in his own bed. He sat up slowly, cautiously checking the condition of his muscles as he moved. Everything seemed to still be in one piece and most of the aches were gone.

Looking at the number on his alarm, he realized it was dinnertime. He could find out how he'd gotten here and fill the monster in his belly at the same time. Getting out of bed, he went downstairs.

It was strangely dark. Normally everyone would be gathering in the kitchen by now, laughing over some silly little thing. Everything was quiet, though. Tsuna reached the bottom of the stair, feeling that the atmosphere was a bit too creepy.

He turned on the lights in the kitchen, wondering where everyone was.

He screamed at what he saw.

* * *

Tsuna's scream brought everyone running. Throwing open the door to his resting room, Gokudera ran over to the bed where Tsuna was thrashing. "Wake up! 10th! Wake up!" he yelled. Sakura forcefully pulled Gokudera off, nearly tossing him across the room. With a loud thwap, the doctor smacked the sleeping boy.

With a gasp, Tsuna's eyes popped open and he stopped thrashing. He didn't seem to completely recognize where he was, though. "So much blood..." he croaked. Suddenly, he seemed to become fully cognizant.

His eyes widened in panic. "What time is it?!" He yelled, jumping out of bed.

"Almost dinnerti--"

Tsuna had already started running. Before anyone could react, he'd already blown through the doors of the dojo and was sprinting through the public facility. About the time he reached the front doors, Gokudera and Yamamoto were chasing him.

Tsuna slid as he turned outside the front doors, bringing surprised yells from the people in line outside. Without wasting a second, he allowed the Dying Will Flame on his head to blossom and darted off at an incredible speed.

He was gone by the time the other two reached the front doors. "Which way did he go?" Gokudera yelled at the stunned crowd. Several people pointed.

"His home is that way," Yamamoto said as they ran in pursuit. When they reached the house, they found Tsuna standing in the living room, the flame on his head still glowing brightly. The rest of his family were standing in the kitchen looking at Tsuna as if he'd just lost his mind.

"What's going on?" Nana asked as they came in.

"I don't kno--"

"Be quiet!" Tsuna interrupted. He tilted his head, as if listening for something. For several minutes, he didn't move.

Sakura came flying in with Reborn on his shoulder. "Tsuna, you--"

"I said, be quiet!" he ordered.

Never in his life had Tsuna been so intent on something. The fierceness in his eyes brought silence.

"There!" he said, reaching his hand out and grabbing something midair with his left hand. Nana screamed when blood sprayed from his hand. Tsuna ignored the pain. He was holding the source of his nightmare and he wasn't letting go.

"Yamamoto!" he yelled. Instantly, his surprised friend reacted, aiming the back of his sword at whatever Tsuna was holding. It didn't matter if he could see it or not. He swung.

A man in a green suit phased in and out as he fell to the ground clutching his arm, his suit and body badly damaged from the assault. Beside him was a blood-stained knife that he'd dropped, the source of Tsuna's wound.

Before the man could realize he could be seen, Tsuna pulled back his bloody fist and knocked him across the face. The intruder went flying across the room to land in an unconscious heap in the corner.

Tsuna dropped to a knee as his body screamed. He'd badly over-used his flame. As Sakura tried to stop his hand from bleeding, he turned to Reborn. "That..was the only...one," he panted as he started slowly releasing his flame. "Is...everyone...safe?"

Reborn answered as Tsuna fell over, "Yes, they're all safe."

"That's...good," Tsuna said as darkness swept him away.

Gokudera went to secure the intruder for questioning while Yamamoto carefully picked up the bloody knife. Looking up, Sakura asked quietly, "What did he see?"

Reborn couldn't answer.

* * *

Tsuna slept through the following madness. At a call from Reborn, the house was swarming with men in black suits. They roughly dragged off the intruder for questioning. After being reassured that Tsuna was fine, Nana obliviously went back to cooking dinner.

Gokudera and Yamamoto carried his unconscious body up to his room after Sakura finished stitching his hand and bandaging it. Thankfully, it wouldn't be an additional scar to add to the mass already there.

At some point, Kyoko, Haru, and Hana stopped by, wondering why the three guys had went flying through the gym. Instead of lying, the boys decided to tell them the truth. That is, they told them that Tsuna had been forewarned of an intruder and came to stop him. They didn't mention anything about the dream or the invisibility suit, though.

While Haru began verbally showing her admiration, Kyoko asked with tears welling up, "Did he get hurt again?"

The boys looked down, silently answering her. Sakura chose to step in before she began crying. "But he'll be fine! I've already treated him. I estimate he'll be asleep until morning and be a bit exhausted during school tomorrow, but otherwise he'll be fine!"

"Really?"

"Really." Relieved, the two girls and Hana left to go home.

"Oi, is that true, flowerpot?" Gokudera asked Sakura.

"As best as I can tell. He's pretty worn out. I figure eight hours to recover from the five minutes straight that he used the flame to get here and stop the intruder. As for recovering from today's activities, the extra three hours he'll get from falling asleep now should cover it." He suddenly got a little bit of a twinkle in his eye. "Although, expect him to be ravenous when he wakes up. I'd warn his mother to make at least four times his normal portion."

Gokudera let him walk off while he sat trying to imagine Tsuna eating that much food. Impossible...


	8. Chapter 8 Fatigue

Having been so mentally tense when he'd fallen asleep, Tsuna's eyes flew open at the sound of his alarm. When he realized that he was staring at the ceiling in his room, he tried to get his heart to stop pounding so loudly. Reaching out his uninjured hand, he tried to get his alarm to shut up. He couldn't seem to find the right button though. Finally, he picked up the whole thing and threw it out the open window by his bed. There was a satisfying crash followed by silence. 

He was sorely tempted to go back to sleep, but a loud growl from his stomach told him he better get up. Listening to the grouchy summons, Tsuna threw back his covers and sat up out of bed. His eyelids felt like they weighed fifty pounds, but he forced them to stay open. With the aide of his bedpost, he wobbled to his feet.

It felt like it took him an hour to make his faltering way down the stairs and into the kitchen. Giving a tired "Good Morning," he sat down at the table. His mother put his plate in front of him and got him a bowl of rice from the cooker. Tsuna could barely lift his chopsticks to his mouth, but somehow, bite by bite, he did.

Less than a minute later, he found himself looking at an empty plate, still feeling empty inside. Before he could ask for more, the empty plate was silently replaced with a new, full one. He continued eating. Three more times, his plate and rice bowl were filled. Three more times, he still couldn't find the energy to look up. When a sixth plate appeared before him but wasn't set down, he made himself raise his head.

Lambo was standing on the table, holding the new plate of food. "Lambo will help make Tsuna feel better, too," he said. That's when Tsuna realized that after he'd finished his own, one by one, everyone had given him their breakfast. Looking around at his mother, Bianchi, Fuuta, I-pin, and Lambo, he felt tears welling up.

"Everyone..."

"Now, now," his mother said from the stove, "It's not like we're not going to get anything. We're all just willing to wait while I make more." Lambo held the plate back up to Tsuna.

"Thank you," he said to Lambo and took the plate gratefully.

As Tsuna sat back from this last plate, he could feel his energy start to return. "You still look like hell," Reborn said, sipping his coffee while Nana made him some eggs. Tsuna grinned, he didn't doubt it. He could feel the bags under his eyes for himself.

"Are you still going to school today?" Bianchi asked.

"I think I'd better. The teacher already has it out for me and I've only been back one day so far. Missing again so soon would be bad."

He got up slowly, ignoring the throb from his hand and muscles. It took him twice as long as normal to get ready, so he started walking to school twice as early. For once, he was glad of his new morning schedule. On days like today, he could skip his run to make up lost time.

He was halfway to school when he crossed paths with Haru. "Hahi?! Are you okay, Tsuna? I heard how you beat that burglar up."

He answered as he continued his slow, rambling walk. "Ah, ha. Um, I'm fine. Just a bit tired. Did you have fun yesterday?" he asked, trying to not let her see how tired he truly was. She began chatting in a one-sided conversation, for which Tsuna was glad. Listening to her cheerful chatter kept his mind off of how slow he was moving. Before he realized it, they were at his school.

Haru looked up, seemingly surprised as well. "Hahi?"

Tsuna smiled. "Thanks for walking with me. I got here faster than I thought I would, thanks to you." She blushed and ran off toward her own school after a rushed farewell.

* * *

From the school's reception room window, Hibari watched as the weary boy crossed the courtyard. As one of the few people that made Hibari's blood-lust surface, he was curious as to Sawada's status. Compared to today, he had seemed perfectly fine yesterday. What kind of training was he doing?

"A herbivore with fangs, eh?" Hibari said to himself, remembering their first conversation upon his return to school. Hibari couldn't control the shiver of anticipation that ran up his spine at the memory of Sawada fighting Xanxus.

"It's going to be a little longer than expected, Hibari," came a voice from the window next to the one he was looking out from.

"Hello, baby," Hibari greeted Reborn. "A delay, you say?"

"Ah," Reborn affirmed, sitting on the windowsill with Leon strapped to his back. "There was an incident yesterday that Tsuna had to deal with."

"An incident."

Reborn nodded. "To deal with the incident, Tsuna had to push himself a bit too much. It's unfortunate, but without some more rest, his performance in training might be affected."

"So," Hibari said with a scowl. "Why doesn't he simply stay home and rest?"

Reborn grinned when Hibari looked back out the window. For him to talk this long about a single individual showed how interested he was in Tsuna. Not that he would ever admit it. "It seems his teacher dislikes him and Tsuna doesn't feel he should push the issue since he's been truant so often."

"I see." Hibari looked at Reborn. He was tempted to challenge the baby to pass the boredom, but he knew that he little man wasn't as powerful without his partner. "How much longer will the green one be stuck like that?" he found himself asking.

"Who knows?" Reborn was actually worried about it himself. Leon had never spent this long on a new item before. Before Hibari could decide to challenge him anyway, Reborn said his farewells and disappeared.

Out of sight, he stopped to listen and see if his talk with Hibari had the desired effect. At first, he wasn't sure, but when Hibari said, "Disliked by a teacher, is he?" Reborn was satisfied.

* * *

When Tsuna reached his classroom, almost everyone was already there. Gokudera came running up to him first, his face flush with relief. "10th! I was so worried. When we stopped by your house, you mother said you had already left. But when we arrived, you weren't here yet. We were about to go looking for you."

Tsuna looked at Gokudera and managed to say, "I'm fine," before collapsing in his seat. The walk to school had taken more out of him than he had thought. He could feel his eyelids drooping and forced himself to stay awake.

Yamamoto and Gokudera shot him a worried look. His haggard look and tired body language were saying that he was anything but fine.

"Tsuna, maybe you should go to the nurse's office and rest. Yesterday was a bit much, you know?" Tsuna just shook his head. Before they could say more, Kyoko and Hana entered. Remembering the last thing that had happened between the three of them at the Juice Bar, the blood rushed out of his face, making him a bit light-headed.

Thankfully, they acted like it didn't happen. With one exception. Hana walked up to Tsuna's desk and slammed her hand down, bringing silence to the rest of the class. "So, how long have you known and why didn't you say anything? Is that the reason so much weird stuff happens around you?"

"Hunh?" Tsuna asked tiredly. He really didn't want to deal with Hana at the moment.

The rest of the class were eavesdropping openly, hungry for gossip. Word had already spread that Tsuna was the owner of the Black Glove Mountain, apparently, thanks to his classmates that had overheard the previous day.

"Since when did you become the heir to that Family the baby talked about? And why didn't you say anything? You could have instantly went from loser to winner if people knew you were rich." Hana yelled. Tsuna couldn't tell if she was mad for not being the first to get the gossip or just curious about his reasons.

Hoping to get rid of her, he answered. "I first found out about two years ago. It wasn't confirmed until a month or so before I went in the hospital. I didn't say anything because I didn't want to be the damn heir," he felt his anger rising and the blood rush to his face, but he was too tired to care. "And do you really think I want people to like me for a reason like power and money? I rather be 'No-Good' Tsuna the rest of my life than have friends like that." By the end, he realized he was standing, staring fiercely into Hana's indignant face as she backed away.

He rubbed his eyes as he sat back down, ignoring the shocked looks of the people around him. He had stopped himself before he said the other thing going through his mind. That all the Vongola's power and money brought was people getting hurt and it was something he rather not have. But he didn't. He didn't say it because he had sworn to protect the people around him from getting hurt anymore. He would do whatever it took to achieve that goal. Even if it meant bringing the Vongola empire to it's knees in the end.

He felt his shoulders droop from fatigue. Had he been more alert, he probably would have noticed the metal tonfa rushing for his head.

* * *

"Opps," Hibari said as the teacher walked in the door. "My hand seems to have slipped."

Gokudera knelt over Tsuna's unconscious form on the floor. "What did you do that for, asshole!"

Hibari ignored him and looked at the teacher with a dangerous glint in his eye. "It seems Sawada will have to go to the nurse's office to recuperate. You don't have a problem with that, do you, Sensei?"

"Oh, um, not at all," the teacher said in delight. About time Sawada got punished in some fashion, he thought.

Many of the students bristled at the teacher's obvious happiness. "You seem quite pleased at the misfortune of one of your students," Hibari slightly scolded. "Showing favoritism against one of your students would be a violation of school Discipline. You wouldn't do that, now would you?" The corner of his mouth twitched upward as the teacher shrank back in fear.

"Um, no, of course not," the teacher said. He quickly pointed to Gokudera and Yamamoto. "Get him to the infirmary, quickly. Make sure he's taken care of."

Gokudera and Yamamoto rushed past Hibari with Tsuna hanging between them. Neither of them could look Hibari in the eyes since they were partially happy about the outcome. While they were upset that he had gotten hit, they were glad Tsuna was being forced to rest. Since he had first arrived at school looking so worn out this morning, both of the boys had been restraining a fierce desire to drag him to the infirmary and lock him inside.

Hibari silently turned and followed them out, heading upstairs for his own class. Along the way, he couldn't seem to control the small smile that kept trying to tug at the corner of his mouth. Delay fixed, he thought to himself.

* * *

The boys rushed into the nurse's office, relieved to see both Dr. Shamal and Sakura.

"What happened?!" Sakura exclaimed as he helped them situate him on the infirmary bed.

"Hibari hit him in the head," Yamamoto said.

Gokudera had a more elaborate explanation, "That bastard. He just wanted to hurt someone. He saw how tired the 10th was and decided to take advantage of it."

"I don't think so," Sakura said methodically, as Dr. Shamal watched with a seeming lack of interest. "The placement of the hit is too precise. And look here," Sakura pushed Tsuna's hair away to show the location of where Hibari had hit him. "There's no knot. Normally, a hit hard enough on the head to knock someone unconscious would leave a lump. But there isn't one."

"What does that mean?" Gokudera asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"The fellow that hit him took his fatigue into account."

"I don't get it," Yamamoto asserted.

Sakura sighed. "Simply, that guy--Hibari?--hit him in precisely the right spot with the precise amount of force needed so that Tsuna would be knocked out without being damaged."

"Wait," Gokudera looked confused. "So you're saying he wasn't trying to hurt him?"

"The exact opposite. He was trying to keep from hurting him yet knock him out at the same time."

"Hibari did?"

"Yes."

Yamamoto laughed. "So Hibari is still on our team after all."

"He is the Cloud Guardian, after all," Reborn said, jumping up on the side of the bed. "He can't be bound, but he will always be drawn toward the Sky."

"Well, he did what I wanted to," Gokudera admitted.

"You wanted to hit, Tsuna?" Yamamoto asked, surprised.

"No, baseball moron, I wanted to have the 10th rest!"

"You, too?" Yamamoto smiled, switching from feather-headed to serious in a moment. Reborn couldn't help but think how like the rain the swordsman really was. Able to go from a gentle shower to a hard downpour in an instant.

"Tsuna's been doing that a lot lately. He's been pushing himself without mercy. If he keeps it up, he's going to end up seriously hurting himself. You two need to start doing your jobs as his ring guardians if you don't want to see him in an early grave."

"We have been!" Gokudera said defensively.

"No, you haven't," Reborn reasserted. "The Sky might encompass the Storm and the Rain, but you two forget that he's also affected by them, as well. Since the fight with Xanxus, the only way that you've affected him is to support his decisions by agreeing with him."

"What's wrong with that?" Yamamoto replied. "Isn't it our job to support him?"

"You can't support him the way you have been, especially when he's recklessly trying to do everything himself. Sometimes support means to step in and take charge, too. Understand? This morning, whether you want to admit it or not, Hibari was the only one supporting Tsuna."

Gokudera hung his head in shame while Yamamoto stared out the window. "We struck out, didn't we," the dark haired boy said, turning back into the feather-brained baseball freak.

"Ah," Gokudera answered quietly. "But we're not out yet."

Reborn smiled. They still had a ways to go, but they were getting there.


	9. Chapter 9 Joy

"What can we do to make him rest without him getting knocked out?" Yamamoto asked out loud as he ate lunch on the roof with everyone. Tsuna was still sleeping down below. His fatigue had been greater than they had first assumed. 

Gokudera lowered his sandwich roll. "I think the better question is to ask why he refuses to rest."

"He reminds me of big brother when he has a tournament," Kyoko said, nibbling on a rice cake. "He trains and trains and will forget everything else around him."

"So, maybe Tsuna thinks something big is coming up?" Yamamoto guessed.

Gokudera looked up. Curious he asked, "The 10th is preparing for something, you mean?" It would explain his lack of moderation. "Then why didn't he tell us so we could prepare, too?"

Ryohei looked up from where he'd been single-mindfully eating his "Extreme Omelet" bento. "Maybe the date of his match hasn't been set, yet? He's just fired up to the Extreme!"

Reborn popped up saying, "That's possible. If his intuition says he needs to prepare, he could be following it blindly without realizing it."

"So we're back to first base," Yamamoto grumbled, taking another bite of rice. "How do we get him to rest?"

Sakura walked out onto the roof, grinning. "I have a suggestion about that. But I'll need your help." The last sentence was aimed at Kyoko.

"If I can help..." Kyoko replied uncertainly.

"Oh, he won't be able to get out of bed." The grin on Sakura's face was contagious.

* * *

Tsuna sat up in bed. Looking out the window of the infirmary, he grumbled as he realized that school was almost over. Although if he was honest with himself, he couldn't say he was that upset. Even the teacher couldn't complain if he'd gotten knocked out.

With a stretch, he stood. His aches and pains had subsided to a reasonable level. He could still feel bags under his eyes, but they didn't feel like they weighed as much as he did anymore.

He opened the curtain around his bed, surprised to find Sakura sitting in Dr. Shamal's desk. "What are you doing here?" He asked automatically.

"Oh, Shamal said he had something to do, so I offered to watch over the place while he was gone. I'm charged with keeping you healthy anyway, so it works out." He handed Tsuna a bento and opened one for himself. "Bianchi brought these over earlier. They look delicious."

Tsuna blanched, "I wouldn't eat that unless you want to drop dead in five minutes, then."

Sakura looked at Tsuna curiously as he took a bite of the curry. "It tastes fine to me."

"Stop!" Tsuna yelled, trying to take the bento box from him, "It's poisoned!"

"Oh, you meant that. I'm a doctor, you know. I neutralized the poison before you woke up. That's actually my specialty." He pulled out a small jar of what looked to be salt from his white coat. "Using this as a base, I can stop any poison in it's tracks."

Tsuna blushed. "Oh."

"This is actually really good. I didn't know the Poison Scorpion was such a good cook! Everyone always warned me not to eat her cooking, but this tastes great. I wonder if they were just teasing me." Tsuna couldn't tell if his cluelessness was intended or not. Most people couldn't identify and cure poison that easily. After taking a bite, though, Tsuna was surprised to find that Sakura hadn't been wrong about the taste. It had to be one of the best curries he'd ever eaten.

Tsuna smiled, "You're awefully non-violent for a mafia doctor."

He let out a sad sigh. "Almost every doctor out there is trying to heal, not harm. Dr. Shamal's Trident Mosquito is even meant for healing. The problem is that there's too many bosses out there that make us use our skills for harm instead."

"That's horrible."

"Anyway," Sakura said, changing the subject before a silence could spring up, "you're free to go back to class now that you've eaten. I'll see you at the training facility later."

Tsuna waved goodbye and went to deal with his teacher.

* * *

Tsuna was flat on his back again, laying in the bed in his resting room of the facility. He didn't want to open his eyes. Every time he opened his eyes, it seemed he was staring at a blank ceiling. He was tired and worn out and, he finally admitted to himself, he was grouchy. He knew he had to get up and back out to training, but part of him just wanted to lie there a bit longer. But he knew he couldn't. Everyone was counting on him.

He finally opened his eyes. However, he felt himself freeze, completely unable to move. He couldn't have gotten out of bed if he wanted to. He couldn't move because when he opened his eyes, Kyoko and Haru were staring at him with cute little expressions on their faces. They were both dressed up in cute outfits that he recognized were from the cos-play store across the street. Tsuna blushed as he felt his body react.

Someone had gotten them to pose in costumes, then blown the picture up and tacked it to the ceiling above his bed. He wasn't sure if he should go yell at the person that did this or thank them. Either way, he decided that it wouldn't hurt to rest a little bit longer.

No one would admit to having added anything to his resting room when he asked around afterward. Although Yamamoto, Gokudera, and Sakura were all trying to hold back pleased little smiles when he came out. Tsuna blushed every time he realized he'd ended up resting an extra hour more than usual. The time had completely passed by before he'd realized it.

He decided he was going to pretend he'd been imagining things and got back to training.

* * *

Over the course of the next several weeks, Tsuna's training schedule continued. Everyday, after his training crash, he would wake to find a different poster tacked to the ceiling. Everyday, he ended up resting much longer than he intended. Slowly, he noticed that the extra rest helped, though.

First, he was able to make it through school without feeling tired. Then he was able to pick his morning run back up, to Ryohei's delight. They were slowly able to increase the time he spent using the Dying Will Flame. Finally the day came when he completely finished his course without passing out.

"Oi," Reborn said. "Are you still in one piece?"

"I-I think so," he panted, sweat dripping down his neck. "I'm tired, but I think I'm okay."

"Way to go, Tsuna," Yamamoto said as he walked up, brandishing his kendo stick.

"As expected, 10th!" Gokudera praised.

"Extreme!" Ryohei cheered.

"Thank you, everyone," Tsuna said.

"Are you sure you don't want to go rest, anyway?" Sakura teased. Tsuna blushed, thinking about the poster that was probably above his bed.

"Um, eh..." Tsuna blushed again, making everyone laugh. "No, I think I'll go get some juice and cool off," he finally decided, as everyone broke up and went back to their own training.

When he walked into the Juice Bar, he was startled when claps and cheering broke out. Looking around, he realized he was the one everyone was cheering at. "EH?"

"Way to go, Tsuna"  
"That was amazing"  
"Wow, twenty stories, just like that"  
"So cool"  
"You finally did it"  
"Congratulations!"

The praise was poured on, to his shock. He'd forgotten that people could watch his training. He turned beet red as a group of girls pushed him into a chair and handed him a cold glass of juice. Completely bewildered, he accepted it, wondering what in the world was going on.

"We've been watching you since you started training," one girl in his school uniform finally said when everyone had calmed down. The large group of boys and girls pulled up chairs around him, looking at him in silent awe. "We're the Tsuna Fan Club."

"F-F-F-Fan Club?!" He started gulping the Juice in his hand, trying unsuccessfully to cover his blushes.

"He's so cuuuute," he heard one girl say, causing him choke on his drink.

"Didn't the other guys tell you? We asked them if it was okay." Tsuna shook his head. No one had seemed to think this was worth mentioning to him.

"I want to watch it again!" One boy suddenly decided, going over to the nearest monitor and hitting the Replay button. Curious, Tsuna leaned over. Other than his first day here, he hadn't looked to see what was recorded. Once again, he found himself wondering if it was really him on the screen.

As it finished, Mr. Guru walked over with his usual Banana, Plum, and Strawberry shake, which he took gratefully. The winkled old man smiled and said, "Good work," before returning to his counter.

Tsuna sat silently listening as everyone continued praising him as the video continued. The girls squealed every time he almost lost his footing, the boys grunted in admiration when he clung on and climbed higher. About a quarter way through the video, Yamamoto and Gokudera came running in at top speed. When they saw Tsuna surrounded, they stopped. Both looked at Tsuna with sheepish grins on their faces.

"Ah crap," Yamamoto said, "You found out." Tsuna blinked at him owlishly, still in shock. At their appearance, two other groups surged out of their respective booths, instantly surrounding them. Tsuna expected the group around him to rush forward, too, but surprisingly, after a glance they went back to watching the video again.

Gokudera was busy trying to pry the girls off when Reborn jumped up onto Tsuna's table. "Isn't it great," he said. "A good boss is supposed to have the support of the masses."

Tsuna groaned, then blushed, then groaned again.

"By the way," one boy said suddenly as Gokudera and Yamamoto sat down. "Everyone's been wondering why you named this place Black Glove Mountain."

Surprised, Tsuna looked up. "Well," he answered, remembering what Reborn had told him. "Normally when I'm in a serious situation, I use my Black X-Gloves to fight. And I'm used to training in the Mountains. So, the two were put together and the name Black Glove Mountain was made." Everyone showed their admiration. Tsuna didn't quite get why they were praising him for a simple explanation and shrugged it off.

"Your gloves sound so cool! Can we see them?" One girl from Haru's school suddenly asked. Before she finished her sentence though, Tsuna stood with a forced smile.

"I better get back to training," he said, clutching his scarred fist. He quickly retreated back into the Dojo before anyone could respond.

His fans turned to Yamamoto and Gokudera in askance. The two watched Tsuna disappear with sad and worried looks on their faces. "He still hasn't gotten over it, has he?" Gokudera asked.

"No," Yamamoto said, "he hasn't."

"W...What happened?" One of Tsuna's fans asked, worried about her hero. Everyone else waited anxiously as the two boys looked at each other, wondering if they should say anything.

Finally, Yamamoto answered simply, "He lost his gloves in the fire that scarred his hand." The girl who had asked covered her mouth with her hands, realizing how carelessly she'd asked such a hard question.

"Can't he just go buy new ones?" A boy piped up, ignoring the atmosphere.

"The 10th's Gloves aren't just something you can pick up off a shelf, dumb ass," Gokudera growled. After a few minutes of talking to themselves, the crowd broke up.

The dark haired swordsman looked down at Reborn, "Hey little guy, is his new ones still not ready?"

Reborn scowled. "I don't know what Leon's doing, but he still hasn't came out of his cocoon. He's either having a lot of trouble fixing the gloves or he's trying to make them into something really special." Reborn was worried for his partner, but he knew he wasn't the only one. Tsuna had taken to spending the hour before bed worrying over the little chameleon. For his part, Leon seemed to be taking it all in stride, ardently pleased over how caring the two of them were.

"I have a feeling it won't be too much longer, though," the little hitman said. "He's been in the cocoon for almost two months now. The item is either extremely hard to make, or Leon's waiting for something from Tsuna."

"Waiting? For what?" The two boys asked in unison.

"Who knows?" was the only reply.

* * *

Later that night, Tsuna sat out on the porch with Reborn. He was unreadable again, Reborn noticed with a grimace. He'd have to pull information out of him the hard way.

"Oi, Tsuna--" Reborn started to say, when he was interrupted.

"I've decided," the boy said. Reborn silently waited for him to continue. "I can't keep waiting for Leon to finish my gloves. I've got to get stronger."

"I've been putting off sparring practice with Hibari because I've been waiting on my gloves to be finished," Tsuna explained. "But I can't keep using that as an excuse. I should have realized what I was doing sooner. I've been running away again."

"How's that?" Reborn asked when Tsuna had fallen silent, lost in his own world.

Tsuna smiled, "I've always relied on my gloves when it came to fighting. Somewhere along the way, I became afraid of initiating a fight without them. And that's basically what I'm going to be doing with Hibari." He sighed as the flame inside him ebbed.

"Hmm," Reborn said. It was true that the gloves were no more than a weapon, and Tsuna had an unhealthy dependence on them when it came to fighting. But he thought that the last two months of training had broken him of that. "You were able to fight that intruder without fear," Reborn reminded him.

Tsuna couldn't help but shiver when he remembered that incident. The dream was still etched in his memory. "That was different. The fight had already started and I was just protecting the others. Fighting Hibari will be different, since I'll be willingly walking into it as a challenger."

"So, what are you going to do?" Reborn asked.

Tsuna looked at him, his face full of determination and his eyes lit by his inner flame. "I'll do it. With or without the gloves, I've got to get stronger. Even without the gloves, I'll become strong enough to protect everyone."

In Reborn's lap, Leon reacted. Tentacles spewed all over the place, latching onto everything it touched. "Wha--?" Tsuna exclaimed in surprise.

"It's your new item, Baka-Tsuna," Reborn said, pleased. Leon had been waiting for Tsuna to gain the strength and determination to not rely on the gloves as his only source of strength, it seemed.

Leon glowed and his tentacles quivered. Finally, with a loud splat, he exploded, revealing Tsuna's new item.

"W-What are these?" Tsuna asked in wonder. He had expected to see his white yarn mittens, but the item that Leon revealed was neither white nor were they mittens. Picking them up, Tsuna looked at them curiously.

It was a pair of black fingerless gloves, made out of the same type of material as his old X-Gloves. On the back of them, he could see the number 27 stitched into them in a bright orange. The wrist-cuffs were white and strongly resembled the ones on his old pair.

"Well, try them on," Reborn ordered. Tsuna didn't waste a second. He slipped them on, finding comfort in the feel of having gloves on his hands again. It felt a little strange at first, having only part of his hand covered, but he quickly got used to the sensation. "Light them," Reborn ordered and again Tsuna didn't waste a second. He let his inner flame flourish until it had gotten to the Dying Will level. Reaching up, he stuck his gloves into the flame on his head, creating the initial connection between them and his flame, much like he had with the old X-Gloves a long time ago.

Instantly, he could feel the flow in his hands. It was as if his body was suddenly given extra vents for his flame. With a little laugh of joy, he increased the flame in his hands, taking simple pleasure in the sensation he hadn't felt in so long. He exclaimed over how the material of the gloves stretched and transformed when lit, covering his hand completely and taking the form of his original X-Gloves.

Reborn didn't try and contain his enthusiasm. "Go take them for a test flight," he allowed. Tsuna didn't need to be told twice. Within seconds he was out of sight. He returned a half hour later, sweating from the use of his flame, but still flush with excitement and joy. He ran over and knelt down next to Leon, thanking him profusely. Finally, after several minutes of Tsuna repeating himself, Reborn got sick of it and gave the boy a quick kick to silence him.

Rubbing his chin, Tsuna stood up, grinning. He released the flame in his hands and the gloves seemed to melt as they turned from his X-Gloves back into their new fingerless dormant form. "I see," Tsuna said, and Reborn looked up at him curiously. "Leon took so long because he was altering them. He made it so that I could always have my gloves on and at the ready. I couldn't really use my hands before when the gloves weren't transformed, but I'll be able to leave these on all the time."

"Exactly," Reborn replied, glad that his student had realized it. "He's lowered your battle preparation time to nearly nothing. However," he informed Tsuna, "Leon didn't take so long because we was still making them. He was waiting for you to realize your mistake."

Tsuna nodded. He wasn't going to repeat it, he swore to himself. "The gloves are just a tool, it's the wielder that gives them strength."

"As long as you know," Reborn said, turning his back and walking into the house. Behind him, Tsuna sat on the porch, continuing to show his glee over his new gloves while Leon watched him in satisfaction.

* * *

Tsuna walked to school the next morning, still staring at his gloves in simple joy. He was opening and closing his fist when the others caught up to him along the way.

"You sure seem happy, Tsuna," Yamamoto said. Tsuna showed him his hands with a huge grin on his face. He couldn't seem to stop smiling.

"Those are...?" Ryohei asked. Then Tsuna realized that they didn't recognize the gloves. Smiling even wider, he made the group jump back as he sent a flow of flame bursting out through them.

"Your X-Gloves!" Gokudera exclaimed. "Amazing!" Tsuna couldn't help himself, he spread his arms and allowed himself to be boosted into the air with a little spin before settling back down and quenching the flames in his hands. Tsuna's smile got wider, if that was possible.

"It feels like it's been forever," he said, looking down at his gloves.

"I'm glad you're happy again," Kyoko said, oblivious to the flames. Tsuna realized that it was true. He hadn't felt this happy since before his accident. He'd felt content, pleased, angry, tired, and a whole slew of other emotions, but not anything he could say was pure happiness.

His smiled, his eyes lit with something other than flames for once. Even the teacher couldn't phase him. He had tried to get Tsuna to remove his gloves, claiming it was a dress code violation, but Tsuna refused. He wasn't going to take them off unless he absolutely had to. Angry, the teacher threw Tsuna out of the class.

Still smiling, Tsuna left his place in the hall and went up to the roof. For once he didn't care if the teacher scolded him, he wouldn't have been able to focus on he class lecture anyway. The roof was the one place that he was always able to think and calm himself. So that's where he went.

He wasn't sure if several hours or several minutes passed as he stood against the railing, watching the sky. He let his mind wander aimlessly, which allowed his body to relax. The sound of the roof door closing brought him back to himself. Before he could turn around, Kyoko was standing next to him, leaning forward over the railing. While he watched, she closed her eyes and let the breeze blow into her face.

Tsuna was caught breathless.

Kyoko blinded him, from his point of view. Like an angel in the sun, he thought. She giggled as she watched him and he blushed when he realized the expression that was probably on his face. He tried to remember to breathe. Then he instantly forgot again.

"Um, eh," he said, as he got his lungs working properly again, "What are you doing up here?"

"The teacher sent me to find you when he noticed you weren't in the hall. Something told me you'd be up here," she said, crossing her arms on the railing and laying her head on them. "You always seem to come up here when you need to calm down about something."

Tsuna's mind went blank. He hadn't expected Kyoko to say something like that. "Y-yes, that's true."

She was looking out at the view and he started to realize how close the two of them were to each other. He looked out over the view, as well, trying to get his joyous cries in his mind to calm down. "Tsuna," she said, sending shivers down his spine, "I didn't want to say this before, but I was really scared when you first woke up. You had suddenly seemed to change so much."

His face fell and he started to allow himself to get depressed by her words until she continued. "But then, then I saw that it was the same you that has always been there. Always trying to be there for everyone and always doing your best. The only difference was that you suddenly seemed so confident, but you never seemed happy anymore. And I got really worried. But..." she said turning to look at him. "But today you seemed like you were finally back to normal. And..." he could see tears welling up in her eyes and his inner flames flared in response. "And I'm so happy."

"Thank you, Kyoko," he said as he slowly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. "You were always the one that believed in me and gave me courage," he couldn't seem to keep the words from falling out of his mouth in a steady stream. After her first moment of surprise, Kyoko had laid her head on his shoulder, accepting his warmth. "You never called me 'No-Good' and always had a smile for me when I was down. Truly, thank you." Not knowing where he had gotten this sudden burst of courage, he ran a hand through her hair. When she looked up in response, he felt himself lean over and kiss her.

There was a moment of shock before she melted against him. As for Tsuna, he felt like Reborn had just hit him with the electrocution paddles as shivers ran up and down his spine, threatening to overwhelm him completely. His knees began to feel like jelly and his lips quivered as they touched hers. He was completely lost in the warmth of her lips.

Once again, he couldn't tell if a moment or an eternity passed. Finally, he broke off the kiss, his loins tightening as he forcefully tried to control the desire raging inside him. Looking at Kyoko, she seemed as unable to focus as he was. Concentrating on her, he ignored his own raging feelings. After a minute, he reached up and brushed a stay hair out of her face, which seemed to bring her back to herself. "Forgive me," Tsuna said, "but I've wanted to do that since I first set eyes on you." Tsuna knew it sounded like some cheesy line from a bad movie, but he couldn't help himself. It was true, after all.

She started to say something, but Tsuna stopped her. "I know I'm nowhere near a good enough guy for someone as great as you. Scary things happen a lot around me and I've got things I'll never be able to explain. Still," Tsuna's tongue froze, the next words were the first ones he'd ever said to Kyoko, he remembered. He was scared and trembling inside, but he forced the words out. "Kyoko, will you go out with me?"

Before she could react, Tsuna heard footsteps rushing up the stairs. Grudging the need, he cursed as he released her from his arms, and stepped back before the door opened. He wasn't going to let her reputation be damaged because of something he did. The door flew open; it was Gokudera.

"I've been looking everywhere for you, 10th! You're father is here! He needs to see you immediately, he says."

Tsuna's face went blank. "My father?"


	10. Chapter 10 Orders

Tsuna's heart was pounding so loud he could hear it ringing in his ears. He had finally managed to do the one thing he'd always dreamed of and it had unintentionally been ruined before he had gotten an answer. But when he heard his father was here, he felt like his heart came to a complete stop. For some reason he couldn't explain, he felt an overwhelming surge of fear. His face went blank at the sudden influx of emotion. 

"What's he want?" Tsuna asked blandly, trying to control himself. Kyoko was standing silently a few feet away from them, watching the conversation as she touched her lips where he'd kissed her.

"He didn't say, 10th," Gokudera answered faithfully, "but he's waiting for you in the classroom."

Irritated, he led Gokudera from the roof. Kyoko didn't follow. Tsuna sighed, he had probably crossed the line in several ways, he thought. He hoped she would forgive him.

Tsuna opened the door to his classroom, getting an immediate surge of dread when he saw his father. The reason was obvious, since the tall, blonde man was wearing a black suit instead of his normal work clothes.

"D-Dad?" Tsuna said, faltering to a stop inside the door. His father turned from where he had been speaking with Tsuna's teacher and smiled. As the class watched, Iemitsu pulled something out of his jacket. Again, Tsuna's emotions flared as he saw a white roll of paper tied with gold.

Tsuna noticed the sadness in his father's eyes as he handed over the parchment. "I'm not here as your dad today, Vongola the 10th." Tsuna was shocked when his father answered him so formally. "These are orders," he continued, "from Vongola the 9th. He has requested you invoke the Omerta after you read it."

With trembling hands, he opened the parchment. The class watched in silence, curious about what was going on. The orders had been written so he could read them without aide and he could tell with a glance that it had been signed with the Dying Will Flame.

_Dear Sawada Tsunayoshi,_

_Three more Families have been completely wiped out by an unknown enemy starting with the heir to the Family's Boss. As my heir, I must take precautions where your safety is concerned. Therefore, I order you to present yourself to me in Italy. You will leave tonight under the cover of darkness in custody of your father, Sawada Iemitsu. Your school records and belongings will be transferred at a later date. For your own safety, it is imperative that you let no one know that you are being moved, else the enemy might try and strike before we have you in custody here in the Headquarters. Hence, I order that you invoke the Omerta on all that you have read._

_Signed,  
Vongola the 9th_

"And if I refuse?" he asked after reading it through a third time.

"You will be marked as a traitor and the Vendiche will be sent," he said. Then, leaning over, his father whispered coldly in his ear so no one else could hear, "and possibly your whole Family punished for your refusal. The Boss' will is the Family's will after all."

Tsuna looked up at his father. Although his voice had been cold with the truth, he could see how hard it was for his father to tell him that. They looked at each other, both knowing they weren't allowed to shed tears.

"Remember the Omerta," his father said, nodding down to the parchment still in Tsuna's hands.

Tsuna was in shock, but he knew what the Omerta was. It was the vow of silence. He wasn't allowed to tell anyone. He wasn't allowed to even give them a clue. Failure to do so would be seen as treason, resulting in possible harm coming to his Family. Tsuna nodded, sending a flare of flame through his glove and incinerating the page in an instant. The class gasped at the sudden sight.

Iemitsu finally put a hand on Tsuna's shoulder, trying to give comfort as a father. Tsuna bowed his head, trying to get his emotions under control. He wanted to weep at the thought of being forced to leave Japan. This was his home and this was where everyone he cared about was. For this to happen so suddenly, after he had come so far...

Feeling himself on the edge of a breakdown, he fanned his inner flame a bit, using it to fortify himself. A sudden calm passed over him as he put walls up around his emotions. His father felt the change in him and backed away.

Tsuna looked up. "I will follow the 9th's orders, Outside Advisor," he said formally.

Iemitsu looked worriedly at him, but merely nodded and left. Figuring that leaving early was safer than staying in class and being questioned, he dashed back to his seat and grabbed his bag. Quickly packing it up, he started to leave the room when he ran into Kyoko. She had finally come back down from the roof, having missed seeing the incident between him and his father. "Oh, ah, Tsuna," she blushed. "Did your father already leave?"

Tsuna's heart clenched as he realized he couldn't say goodbye. He couldn't chance any failure in carrying out his orders. So, doing the best thing he could think of, he leaned over and whispered, "Forget I said anything," before turning and leaving. Kyoko just stared after him, a hurt and confused look on her face.

* * *

After Tsuna left, with a harried teacher chasing after him, the class broke out in loud chatter, wondering what had just happened. No one noticed Yamamoto and Gokudera were standing deathly silent at the back of the room.

"He did it again," Yamamoto finally said through clenched teeth. "He didn't even think of relying on us for a second, did he?"

"Ah," Gokudera said blandly.

"And we stood here and let it happen again, didn't we?"

"Ah," Gokudera repeated blandly.

"Are we going to follow him?"

"Ah," Gokudera said for a third time. That's when Yamamoto noticed the blank look in Gokudera's eyes.

"What's wrong?"

Gokudera blinked, "Whatever it is, it's bad. The Omerta isn't something to be invoked casually."

"Lets go," Yamamoto said, snatching up his baseball bat carrier that had his Shigure Kintoki inside.

Gokudera nodded and led the pursuit.

They didn't have to go far. They tracked Tsuna to where he'd hid himself in the boy's bathroom. They could hear the sound of his quiet sniffles from the door. Gokudera was about to charge in when Yamamoto pulled him back.

"I got a copy of the orders," Reborn's voice echoed.

"Why?" Tsuna cried, relieved to be able to finally say it out loud. "Why did he send orders like that?"

"Oi," Reborn said, "pull yourself together. It can't be helped."

"But..." The sound of Tsuna's voice was in anguish. Peeking around the corner, the two onlookers saw Tsuna tensely leaning over a sink, his shoulders shaking from the effort to control himself.

"10th..." Gokudera whispered.

Apparently a breath of his voice reached Tsuna, because he whirled around into a defensive stance and yelled, "Who's there?" The two came out of hiding. "Oh, it's you guys," he said, squelching his emotions again. He turned on the faucet and splashed water on his face, coldly and pointedly shutting his friends out.

A hand on his shoulder spun him around and the next thing he knew, he was flying backward as a fist hit his jaw. He landed in a heap against the wall, seeing stars. Shaking his head to clear it, he looked up. "Yamamoto?" The swordsman was standing over him with a very un-Yamamoto look of anger on his face.

Looking over, Tsuna was even more surprised at Gokudera's reaction. The dynamite specialist had his hands behind his head as if to restrain them and was pointedly looking away and gritting his teeth. "Goku-dera?"

He looked back at Yamamoto, who had advanced without him realizing it. Tsuna found himself being held up by his collar with a very angry swordsman in his face. "I've had it," Yamamoto yelled. "Ever since you decided to do your trial, you've been like this, and I'm sick of it. You purposely closed us out back then and you're closing us out again now. But I'm not going to sit here and let you hurt yourself anymore, be it mind or body."

"What would you have me do?" Tsuna asked darkly, his head bowed and face shadowed as he hung limply from where Yamamoto held him. "Would you have me break the Omerta? Or maybe disobey my orders? Let me warn you that the price for either is higher than you're willing to pay."

Yamamoto set Tsuna down, unable to respond. This time, Gokudera stepped up though. "You don't have to do either, 10th. But it doesn't break the Omerta to lean on our strength a bit, even if you can't tell us why you're leaning. And doesn't break the rules to have your Ring Guardians at your side while you're following orders. No one said you had to follow orders alone. That's one of the reasons a Boss has a right-hand man in the first place."

Tsuna's shoulders began shaking. "I..." he put his hands on his face and sank to the ground as he thought about what his orders entailed. "I couldn't ask that of you," he said as he tried to stop the tears from flowing.

"10th," Gokudera said in a soft voice, so unlike his normal self. "You can ask anything from Family. That's what makes you more than just friends."

Yamamoto agreed, "It's give and take with Family, but lately you've been giving without taking. It's about time you realized that Tsuna. We know that you want to protect us, but let us protect you, too."

Suddenly feeling so small, Tsuna looked up at his friends. The caring and protectiveness he could see in their eyes was more than he could stand. He realized how foolish he'd been. He'd forgotten why he had let them protect him for so long. The true reason hadn't been because he was weak, but because they had always been so strong.

He began to ask himself, "When had he made himself believe it was only his fight? In the ring battles, hadn't they all fought together? Yet he was the one that had been silently trying to fight alone. Why had he been so blind?"

Tsuna looked up at Reborn wordlessly. "No helping it. I'll get them amended to the orders. Until then, you three go find somewhere you can hide out. If you go home, the girls are sure to come question you after school." He gave Tsuna a look that told the boy he knew what had happened. Tsuna's heart clenched at the reminder.

"We'll go to Black Glove Mountain," Tsuna said, heart-sore and weary. "The top floors are still empty, so no one will find us there if I pass word to the staff."

Reborn nodded and disappeared. Tsuna stood, picking up his bag. Halfway to the door, Gokudera let out a mournful groan. When Tsuna looked back at him questioningly, the older boy was overflowing with regret when he said, "I let someone hit you, 10th. I'll never be able to forgive myself..."

The lament and requests for forgiveness followed Tsuna all the way to the facility.

* * *

The top floor of the facility was stark and barren. The only notable feature was the wall to wall windows on one side of the room. The view was truly amazing.

Tsuna didn't care.

He still couldn't talk to his two friends about what was going on, so the silence was thick between them. Because of the silence, he couldn't keep thoughts of Kyoko out of his head. "Kyoko probably hates me now," he found himself saying as he sat slumped against a wall.

"What happened, 10th?" Gokudera asked, glad to finally have something they could talk about.

"I kissed her then asked her out," he groaned.

"No way!" Yamamoto said, honestly surprised. "Good for you! I was wondering when you were going to make a move. You can't get off of home base if you don't swing, after all."

"But why would she hate you, 10th?" Gokudera was curious.

Tsuna raised his head, showing them the dead look in his eyes. "The last thing I said to her was to forget I asked." He slumped back down, looking at the floor.

"10th..." Gokudera and Yamamoto looked at each other worriedly as the silence sprung back up. They both knew that for Tsuna to do something like that, it had to be serious business.

Finally, after about two hours had passed, Reborn showed up. "The 9th has made an allowance for you two. You can tell them Tsuna."

Tsuna sighed and began talking without raising his head. "Three more Families have been completely wiped out, starting with the Family's heirs. So, for my safety, I have been ordered to leave Japan tonight and present myself at the Vongola Headquarters in Italy. Also for my safety, I'm not allowed to tell anyone that I'm being moved."

"That means you didn't tell Kyoko you were leaving," as Tsuna shook his head, Yamamoto suddenly understood why he had such a dead look in his eyes.

"This is bullshit," Gokudera said. "Do they think we can't protect him ourselves?"

"That's not the problem, Gokudera," Reborn said. "The problem is the methods that were used." The two Guardians looked up in interest. "Hostages." He couldn't cover the look of disgust on his face. "Non-combatants related to the heir of a Family is used as a lure so that they can kill the heir with ease, then they kill the non-combatants to cover their trail. The same method is used for the Boss and as many Family members as possible. Then, when the Family is weakened, they swoop in and clean up what's left."

"Then why is the 10th being sent to Italy?" Gokudera yelled. "There's all the more reason to keep him here!"

Tsuna's head popped up and he realized what was really going on. The fires in his eyes revealed shock and anger. "That bastard..." Tsuna stood up.

"So you realized," Iemitsu said from the elevator doors.

"Yes, I did," Tsuna replied, his eyes blazing.

"You have a responsibility as Vongola the 10th."

Tsuna made his way to the elevator, his two friends at his side. "You can tell the 9th I said to go to hell. I'm staying here."

"Tsuna!" His father yelled in shock as Reborn jumped on the boy's shoulder.

"What's going on?" Yamamoto asked, faithfully following in Tsuna's wake.

"I thought it was odd," Tsuna explained. "If the 9th wanted me safe, he could have just sent reinforcements to watch over me. Instead, he wanted me to leave the country. But the real reason is because he knows that if I'm here, I'll put my Family's safety before my own. So, he wants me in Italy where they can restrain me by force if needed. He's putting my protection over everyone else's."

Tsuna turned and looked his father coldly in the eye and said, "I'm not going to go hide and leave my Family to be slaughtered so that the 9th can have someone to to sit on his damn throne." Tsuna's allowed the Dying Will Flame to sprout on his head as he warned, "Be sure and tell him, too, that if he decides to send the Vendiche, I won't go quietly."

The elevator doors silently slid shut on the shocked look on his father's face.


	11. Chapter 11 Preparation

The moment the elevator doors shut, Tsuna started shivering. He let his flame die back down as full realization of what he'd just said hit him. He'd just sent an insult and challenge to one of the most powerful men in the underground. A man that had thousands of mafia at his beck and call. A man that could order his and his Family's death with a wave of his hand. 

"The 9th isn't a rash man," Reborn said in answer to his thoughts. "Once told of your reasons, his anger will be manageable. After all, a Boss thinks of his Family and that's exactly what you're doing." Reborn gave a little pat to Tsuna's shoulder. "You did well. Though, I wonder what the 9th was thinking. It's unlike him to put one person's safety as a priority over a whole Family's."

"He's scared," Tsuna answered, somehow knowing it was the correct one. "The incident with Gola Mosca reminded him of his own mortality. He's trying to protect the future of the Vongola by protecting me."

"I see."

"R-Reborn," Tsuna trembled. "Maybe you s-should go back to Italy. I'm still probably going to be branded as a traitor for disobeying direct orders. I..I don't want you blamed for--"

Reborn thumped Tsuna on the head lightly with his small hand. "I'm not someone you have to protect, Baka-Tsuna," he said seriously, although he couldn't help but smile.

"What now, boss?" Gokudera asked, as the elevator doors opened to the crowded first floor. The rock walls were filled with the usual amount of people and he could see a line waiting outside again.

Tsuna stepped out and stopped, the reassuring presence of his friends--no, he amended, they were his Family--behind him. "We need to prepare," he said confidently. "We need to be prepared for anything that either our former friends or our enemies might send at us." He nodded to himself. "First things first," he said, waving for them to follow him. First, he led the way to the Juice Bar.

"Listen up," Tsuna said loudly to the crowd, instantly getting attention. "As of now, the Juice Bar is temporarily off-limits. You all have exactly one minute to leave before I will be unable to ensure your safety. Yamamoto, give me a countdown." Slowly, the confused crowd started stepping outside the bar. Mr. Guru looked at his employer curiously before silently standing outside as well. As Yamamoto finished counting down, Tsuna turned to Gokudera. "Get rid of the eyes," he said simply.

Gokudera nodded, and with a flash of his hand, several mini-bombs went flying. All across the wall, the booths exploded as each of the television monitors were hit. Tsuna nodded to himself. Now they could train without giving the enemy the ability to see their progress.

Tsuna turned to Mr. Guru. "Sorry about the mess. It's all yours again." Before the poor man could react, Tsuna was already walking through the shocked crowd. He went outside to where the attendant was keeping track of the occupancy. "There was an accident in the Juice Bar," he told her. "As a result, the occupancy limit will be halved until further notice." The poor woman's eyes widened, but didn't argue.

Leading the others into the Dojo, Tsuna gave a sigh once the door was shut. "So, what was that all about?" Yamamoto asked, finally breaking his silence.

"I can't shut the place down completely," Tsuna answered. "That would be like saying 'here we are, come and get us'." He rubbed his eyes, feeling a headache coming on. "I don't like the idea of so many people here, though. Also, we can't train while allowing the enemy the ability to watch us in comfort. But by damaging the Juice Bar, we took out the eyes and lowered the amount of possible bystanders at the same time."

Before he could say more, a very angry Ryohei came bursting through the door. "I'm EXTREMELY pissed off!" he yelled as he charged forward. Sensing his life in danger, Tsuna increased his flame to dodge Ryohei's Extreme Rush.

"W-W- Damnit! What's wrong?!" He was barely managing to stay ahead of the dangerous fists. Ryohei pushed forward, sending his Extreme Right straight for Tsuna's head. Pain flared across his cheek as it grazed him.

Ryohei was trying to kill him, he realized. The boxer wasn't holding back at all. Tsuna flared his gloves and threw himself into the air, hovering out of reach. Gokudera and Yamamoto took that moment to leap in, tackling the angry man and trying to pin him down.

"What the hell are you doing, lawn-head?!" Gokudera yelled. With a roar, Ryohei jumped back to his feet, throwing the two off of him as Kyoko came running in the door.

"That's Extremely unfair!" He yelled when he realized he couldn't reach Tsuna. "Get down here so I can reach you!"

"Are you crazy? You're trying to kill me!" he squealed.

"Big Brother!" Kyoko yelled. "Stop it, big brother! He didn't do anything!" Tsuna noticed her eyes were red.

The boxer was looking around for something to climb on. "He made you cry. That's enough for me!"

Tsuna finally realized what was going on. He went cold, his flames instantly quenched as he landed. "I'm sorry," he said quietly as Ryohei advanced on him. Tsuna didn't try and dodge as Ryohei's Extreme Right came flying at him. He didn't even flinch. He just stared into Kyoko's brother's face with a look of remorse.

An inch from his face, the fist came to an abrupt stop. Looking down, he saw Kyoko's hand on Ryohei's wrist, gently but forcefully asking him to stop. The boxer obeyed the silent command. "Why?" Ryohei asked him in a deadly voice, pointedly not looking at his sister. "Why did you make her cry?"

Tsuna couldn't help but give a small, sad smile as he looked at Gokudera. "He wants to know why." He suddenly felt like laughing insanely as he put his face in his hands, but didn't. He looked up at Ryohei again when he had calmed himself. "Because the alternative is much worse," he said trying to put into his eyes all the words he couldn't say. Ryohei cocked his head and somewhere deep down in his single-minded brain, he seemed to understand. As Tsuna watched, the boxer relaxed. "If you forgive me, then I need you to start preparation. We've got another...uh...Sumo Tournament coming up."

At the boxer's nod, he told them, "I'll be in my room for a little while, resting. Don't interrupt unless you have to." He turned his back to them, intentionally not looking at Kyoko, and retreated before anyone could say anything.

* * *

Tsuna sat on the couch in his resting room, his mind blank about what to do next. Reborn, being the only one to automatically ignore his request, sat down beside him after getting some coffee.

"Reborn," he finally said, "I don't know what to do."

His tutor smiled at the words he'd heard so often in the past. "Let me give you some more information then and see if that helps," he replied. "The information about the enemies' methods were gotten from that intruder you caught. He wouldn't tell us which family he was from or anything about his suit. However, after a bit of persuasion, he was willing to tell us everything he knew about his mission. He had been assigned to kidnap your mother and, if possible, as many others as he could."

"He was there to kidnap them?" Tsuna asked, trying not to think about what kind of persuasion was used. "But the dream I had showed something far worse."

"Likely what you saw was a warning. Not only of the time and place of the kidnapping, but of the aftermath." Tsuna nodded at Reborn's words. His face turned pale and his stomach churned at the thought, but he knew it made sense. "Vongola scientists took a look over the man's suit. It's definitely one of Verde's creations, but the safety precautions have been taken out."

"Safety precautions?"

"I couldn't see them," Reborn said. "Verde's old suits were made so that people under a certain age could see through them, remember? But these had been altered. I can't think Verde did that willingly. He's always been fanatical about keeping his inventions from being used against him."

"So it's possible that Verde has been captured by the enemy?"

Reborn nodded. "We sent squads to check out his lab, but it was empty."

"So we know how. But we still don't know anything else," he cried.

Before he could say anything else, the door to his room opened. It was the last person he expected.

"Dad?" Tsuna asked, unsure of what to say after the confrontation upstairs. The man quietly closed the door behind him and leaned against it.

He rubbed his eyes and said, "I said before that I had a feeling you'd be surprising us a lot, but I never expected you to do something like this. I don't know whether to be angry that you disobeyed orders, or proud of you." Unsure himself, Tsuna stayed silent. They looked at each other for a long moment while Iemitsu seemed to come to a decision. Finally, he warned, "You're prepared to be punished, right? The 9th won't be able to let it slide completely, you know. Heir or no heir." At Tsuna's nod, the look in his father's eyes softened.

"I'll see if I can buy you some time," he told Tsuna. He pulled his cell phone out and dialed. "It's me," he spoke to the unknown person on the other end. "I seem to have ran into a problem. No, no, not that. Well," he was obviously making it up as he went, "I seem to have lost the orders that the 9th sent. No, don't bother sending someone else. I'll come and retrieve a copy instead. Really, I don't want there to be a fuss. Ah, okay. Fine. I'll be there in the morning." He looked at his phone in disgust as he turned it off. "The 9th wants to see me, it seems. I have to leave immediately, but that should buy you a few days." He reached out and put a hand on his son's head.

"Dad..." Tsuna's eyes filled with tears as he realized what his father had just done. "Thank you."

His father smiled and left only saying, "Make sure you protect your mother."

After he was gone, something inside Tsuna seemed to solidify. He stood and walked out into the Dojo. Putting his fingers to his lips, he gave a loud whistle to catch everyone's attention and waved them over. Thankfully, Tsuna noticed that Kyoko was gone. "Okay," he said as they got close, "we don't know who the enemy is or when he'll be coming. We do know that they will be going after our Family, though. Those that are close to me will be in danger first." He turned and looked down at Reborn. "Can you get in contact with Bianchi and fill her in? Have her and the others keep an eye out for mom?" Reborn nodded as Tsuna turned to Ryohei and Yamamoto, "I'll leave your sister to you, for the most part, Ryohei. Yamamoto can serve double-duty by watching her in class and getting the assignments I'll be missing."

"What about me, 10th?" Gokudera asked, ready and willing to do anything.

"You have flares, right?" He asked his ever-loyal friend. At Gokudera's confused nod, Tsuna continued, "Then I want you to watch over Haru. Her school is almost all the way across town, so you're the only one that can send a signal if something happens. Blue flares for a warning, Red flares if you sight the enemy." He looked around at all his friends. "Train as you watch over them," he said.

"What are you going to be doing, Tsuna?" Yamamoto asked. Tsuna remembered the confrontation they'd had in the boy's bathroom. The swordsman wasn't going to like this, but it was what he had to do.

"Since I haven't had any combat practice with my gloves in a long time, I need to get as much of my battle senses back as I can. So, I'm going to be sparring with Hibari for the most part," he said while raising a hand to forestall their objections. "I'll see if Chrome will be willing to help. I'm sure she has the power to make us invisible outside a certain range, like the illusionists did during the ring battles. I'll also keep Sakura on hand in case something happens."

"Not good enough," Yamamoto objected. "If anyone gets inside that range, you'll have no one that can fight watching your back. And Hibari isn't someone you can spar with while keeping your mind on other things."

He was right, Tsuna realized. "Fine," he said grudgingly. "We'll do it at the school then. If anything happens, Ryohei can take over watching Kyoko and you'll be free to help me."

Gokudera didn't like that in the least. He wanted to be the one protecting the 10th's back instead of the 'Hahi' girl. But the 10th had given the orders out and there was no one else that could call for backup from that far away. He stuck his hand out suddenly, looking away and turning red.

Everyone else looked at him, confused at curious at first. Then they smiled at each other and one-by-one they put their hands on his. "Family! Fight-O!" Ryohei yelled.

"Fight-O!"

It was, after all, the Sawada Family way.

* * *

Tsuna had two places he wanted to stop before going to see Chrome. First was to an ATM, where his eyes crossed at the number of zeroes on his balance sheet. Second, he decided to go to Patchwork Jewelry. That ring had been nagging him in the back of his mind for several days now. He'd forgotten about it while he'd been focused on training, but he lately he'd been waking up with half-remembered images of the flame-etched ring in his head.

He had to get one, he decided. Gokudera and Yamamoto would probably be mad at him later, but he had Reborn watching his back right now. So, without any more than a single moment's hesitation, he made his way to the shopping district.

As he entered the worn-down shop, Reborn jumped off his shoulder. Once again, no one was minding the store. He assumed that it was to be expected with such an unnoticeable shop. They probably only got one customer a day, if they were lucky. "Um, hello...?" he called back.

The girl he remembered from before came out of the back room. She started to give the normal greeting when she looked up and saw who it was. "Oh," she said, "it's you." Taken aback at her rudeness, Tsuna didn't know what to say.

A light cuff from Patchwork hit the girl from behind. "Don't be rude to the customers," the muscular woman scolded.

"Why not? He already said he was broke. It's not like he's going to buy anything." The girl had turned indignant as she pulled on her long braid.

"Actually," Tsuna piped up. "I've come to buy one of those rings."

Patchwork smirked at the look of amazement on her daughter's face. "Your tutor talked me down to seven million. If you pay now, I can have your ring ready in two days." She put up a warning finger at his satisfied look. "Assuming I don't object to your flame."

"My flame?" he asked.

"The little guy," she said, pointing down at Reborn, "didn't tell you?" The answer was obvious from the blank look on his face. Patchwork sighed and leaned on the counter. "I was wondering why you took so long to come and get one. I guess it's to be expected. Demitirus smiths have been in hiding for generations."

She put her hand up where he could see it. He noticed that she was wearing several of the black rings on her fingers. "Come on out, Adamant," she said. As he watched, the flame on one of the rings seemed to dance and swirl. He noticed it was a pure white flame, totally free of any color. As the flames flickered and seemed to get stronger, Patchwork continued explaining. "My flame is the Hephaestus Flame. To make items that can hold flame, one has to use a Dying Will Flame devoid of any other attributes. You could say that this is the flame that isn't." While she had been talking, the flames on the ring had burst into reality, dancing and emitting heat.

Then the flame leaped into the air, taking Tsuna by surprise. Looking closely, he could see it was still getting bigger, although at a slow rate. When it reached the size of his palm, it stopped growing and started swirling instead. "W-What's going on?" He asked, completely mystified by the flame hovering between them.

Patchwork smiled as she answered. "Demitirus gives life to flame. It stores a person's flame and gives it a separate consciousness that's typically loyal to it's creator." She pointed down where Leon was positioned on Reborn's hat. "I can't tell what this little fellow's base was, since it's not flame, but he was probably created the same way." Reborn kept his poker face intact, leaving Tsuna to wonder what the woman had meant.

The sound of crackling drew his attention back up to the white flame. It had shrunk a bit, but was seeming to solidify. He was starting to be able to make out bird wings of some kind. "Right now, it's still trying to take it's shape. The flame first propagated itself and now it's compressing itself. When it's done, you'll be able to see my partner, Adamant."

After another half-minute passed, the flame had taken the complete form of a bird. A dove, he realized. The little thing flew over to Patchwork, it's wings sending off sparks, and jumped on her shoulder. It gave a little nibble to the woman's ear in greeting.

"May I?" he asked, amazed beyond comprehension. With a nod, he reached out to pet the little creature. Although it had seemed to take a solid form, the little creature was still made of flames, he realized. As he petted the bird softly, he could feel a feather-like texture beneath his hand, but he could also feel a controlled heat being emitted. It didn't burn him. Instead it somehow reminded him of the warmth he'd felt when he'd hugged Kyoko.

The little bird chirped in pleasure as his hand brushed the feathers on it's neck. "She has feelings and thoughts of her own," Patchwork said as she smiled at her little friend. "She's no different than any other living creature once you get past the fact that she was created from flame." She looked at Tsuna seriously. "Now, this is my partner created from my flame. What kind of creature do you think a flame full of anger and destruction would create?"

Tsuna's eyes widened as he thought of what might be created if Xanxus got one of these rings. Patchwork nodded as Tsuna dropped his hand. "Now you see why Demitirus smiths went into hiding. They couldn't stop creating but they didn't want to be responsible anymore." Patchwork sneered. "Hogwash," she said. "I'm from the newer generation. We consider it our responsibility to find worthy people to bestow rings on, instead of staying in hiding. If we make a mistake in giving a ring out, we fix it."

Tsuna nodded in understanding. It was hard not to use your abilities once you've gained control over them. "So," Patchwork concluded, "now you know why I need to see your flame." The little bird stretched her wings on Patchwork's shoulder. "You can go back to sleep if you want," she told it.

With a little chirp, the bird jumped down along the woman's arm. When it reached her hand and touched the ring, it started to shrink and lose it's form. Finally, with a small flicker, the flame and creature disappeared completely. Looking closely, he could see the flame etched on the ring swirl and dance before it, too, settled back down into a near-lifeless pattern. He could still see a slight movement, but it was so slow he couldn't be sure if his eyes were just playing tricks on him.

"Show her," Reborn said, speaking for the first time since entering the store. Tsuna nodded, increasing his flame until a bright orange spouted from his head. Patchwork's daughter jumped back in surprise, while Patchwork herself widened her eyes.

"Hmmm," she muttered. "I didn't think I'd ever meet someone with the Sky Flame. Pretty impressive." After a moment of thought, she asked, "Do you still want a ring?" Although she asked him in a tone that suggested she didn't care about his answer, he could tell she wanted to get started right away. He nodded. He couldn't explain why, but the need and desire for one had become almost unbearable in his mind.

"As soon as possible," he confirmed, pulling out the golden card that Reborn had given him.

* * *

As he entered the gate to Kokuyou Land, Tsuna put his guard up. Last time he'd walked into this place, he'd nearly been killed by Mukuro. He wasn't going to take any chances this time around. Chrome might be one of his Ring Guardians, but Ken and Chikusa weren't. They'd kill him in an instant if they thought he was going to do anything that might break their only link to Mukuro.

He stopped as he heard the sound of something coming down the path. Before he could wonder what it was, Ken came into view, moving at an incredible speed. From the mark on his cheek, Tsuna recognized the "Cheetah Channel". "What do you want?" Ken asked aggressively.

"I need to ask a favor from Chrome," he answered simply. He had no reason to hide it.

"I'm here, boss," a female voice said as Chrome came out from behind a tree, carrying her three-pronged trident before her. Suspicious at how quickly she had appeared, he allowed his inner flame to flare as he took a second look.

"Your illusions have gotten more solid," he complemented the fake girl.

"Thank you, boss," she said quietly. "You said you needed something from me? Or did you wish to speak with Mukuro-sama?"

He shook his head. "No, I think you're strong enough for what I need," he answered. "All I can really say is that the Family is in a bit of a crisis. I need someone to provide cover for me while I'm training and I thought of you."

"Geez," Ken griped, "Why should we help you?"

"I don't suppose I could bribe you with bubble gum and sushi, could I?" He quipped, causing Ken to growl.

"I'll help, boss," Chrome interrupted. She looked at him with earnest eyes. "I think that's what Mukuro-sama would want."

"Thank you," Tsuna said with a small bow. "I'll be sparring with Hibari at the school, so if you could just erase our presence from view to those outside the grounds, I'd be appreciative."

"I can do that," she replied. "But I'll need to be within viewing range."

"I'll set something comfortable up for you, Ken, and Chikusa. If you'll come in the morning, I'll have it ready." She nodded as she released the illusion of herself. Looking up, he saw movement from one of the upper windows of the facility. He assumed she'd been projecting from there.

Ken growled, obviously wanting Tsuna to leave. Not wanting to irritate the guy anymore, he turned and left.

At the gates, Tsuna looked at the sky and realized he'd only have time for one more stop before he needed to be home for dinner. He couldn't put it off any longer. It was time to talk to Hibari.


	12. Chapter 12 The Next Step

Tsuna walked into the school, wondering if Hibari was even still there. The sun had set a half-hour before, leaving the city in darkness. He could barely see his way across the courtyard. 

"Being on the grounds after dark is a violation of school discipline," a voice called out. Tsuna heard a scrap of metal and saw a flash of steel as he recognized Hibari's voice. "Trespassers will be bitten to death."

"And here I thought you'd give me a warm welcome," Tsuna grinned keeping himself in a purposely lax stance. He was still unable to locate Hibari's whereabouts in the darkness. "After all, I came to see if you were still bored," he said.

"Oh?" Hibari's voice sound amused. To his left, Tsuna could hear footsteps coming closer. He purposely didn't turn that way, allowing an opening for Hibari to attack. Hibari was too smart to take the bait, however.

"I think maybe we could have some...fun...tomorrow if you don't mind a few guests."

"What kind of guests?" The Disciplinary Head inquired as he casually circled Tsuna in the darkness. He was now positioned at Tsuna's back, but Tsuna still didn't move in response.

"The kind that would be better left unseen," he responded. He couldn't mention anything about the guest's relation to Mukuro, he reminded himself silently. Hibari's grudge was still quite strong, after all. "Ones I require to have nearby, to keep possible...interruptions...from happening."

"I see," Hibari said from Tsuna's right side. Again, Tsuna didn't move in response. He felt incredibly tense talking to Hibari like this. It took a great effort to seem nonchalant while keeping his guard raised, but it was the posing needed to get Hibari's aide. He had to make himself into a very tempting morsel to get this particular predator to fall into his trap, after all.

"I might be able to arrange something, if it will keep...interruptions...to a minimum," Hibari agreed.

"In that case, I will see you in the morning," Tsuna said, purposely turning his back to where Hibari stood in the darkness. He began walking out of the courtyard at a leisurely pace.

"I'll be waiting," Hibari whispered so low that Tsuna was unsure if he'd even heard it.

* * *

"I should have slept in," Tsuna thought to himself as he stood back up. Hibari was proving to be a much harder opponent than he had expected. So far, Tsuna had only managed to land bruises in comparison to the broken rib Hibari had granted him. Then again, he wasn't trying to obliterate his opponent, either.

Hibari smiled as his blood-lust rose. The man was thoroughly enjoying himself. Not only was he getting to fight someone he had silently acknowledged as a strong, but he was getting to knock the same person down repeatedly. It was a fine morning. "If you don't fight me seriously," Hibari warned, raising his tonfas into a comfortable position, "You're just going to be bitten to death."

Tsuna grimaced as a stab of pain came from his rib. He couldn't deny Hibari's words. There was an advantage that one had if they went for the kill instead of simply trying to disable. That was one of his weaknesses, he realized. He was holding back because deep down, he didn't want to hurt anyone. Thinking back, that's why Xanxus had almost defeated him. Back then, he had allowed Xanxus to strike too many times. It hadn't been until Tsuna had truly been pushed into a corner that he had fought back with everything he had.

"Now I know why Hibari always called me a herbivore," he thought to himself. He had finally realized the real difference between a carnivore and a herbivore. It wasn't all just about what foods they ate. It all came down to when they chose to fight. A carnivorous predator would always fight the moment a strong enemy appeared. Either to protect it's pack or to prove it's own superiority. On the other hand, a herbivore would only fight when his own life is in danger.

"I chose to fight when I underwent the trial. If I go back on that now, I'll only regret it," he whispered to himself. Looking up at Hibari, he raised his voice to carry, "Alright, I'll stop holding back. I can't be a herbivore anymore, after all."

Hibari's eyes seemed to light up yet get colder at the same time. Tsuna took a moment to look up at the Reception Room where Chrome was holed up. Ken seemed calm when he looked out the window, so Tsuna supposed that she was still fine. Chikusa was as hard to read as ever, though.

In the back of his mind, Tsuna was glad they had came with Chrome. Yamamoto was likely to be angry again, considering that the spar had started several hours before school. It had practically been sunrise when he'd escorted Chrome upstairs, coming early to ensure none of his classmates saw the Kokuyou uniforms. He had initially planned on waiting until Yamamoto arrived for school to start, but Hibari had ran out of patience with his 'prey' before him. And when Hibari was in that mood, Tsuna hadn't been given any choice but to fight.

Tsuna's train of thought was cut off as Hibari charged forward. With a cry, Tsuna rushed to meet him, focusing every ounce of his being on eliminating his opponent.

It was the only path he had to get stronger, after all.

* * *

Yamamoto was worried. He had stopped by Tsuna's house to pick him up, but his mother said that he'd been gone since before she'd woken up.

Yamamoto picked up his pace, becoming more worried by the second. Before he realized it, he was running. As he turned a corner, he came to a crashing stop, however. He'd accidentally ran into Ryohei, knocking them both down. Without pausing to apologize, he yelled, "Have you seen Tsuna?!"

Ryohei grunted a negative as they stood back up. Looking over at Kyoko, who was standing to the side looking worried, he repeated his question a bit more calmly, "Have you seen him?"

"N-no..." she said, with a sad look. Yamamoto wanted to slap himself. Of course she hadn't seen Tsuna. They probably hadn't spoken to each other since the incident the previous day.

"Did something happen?" Ryohei asked.

Yamamoto nodded as they quickly turned toward the school. Once again, Yamamoto was walking at an extraordinarily fast pace. Kyoko was having a bit of trouble keeping up, so the swordsman slowed as he explained. "He was supposed to start his combat training with Hibari today. But he wasn't at home when I went to get him. His family said that he'd left before dawn. I'm worried that maybe..." Yamamoto didn't say it. He was worried that the enemy had already gotten to Tsuna.

"Maybe he started early?" Kyoko suggested, bringing both boys to a standstill. Dread filled their eyes as they looked blankly at each other.

"He wouldn't..."

"Against Hibari..."

Without another word, Ryohei picked a startled Kyoko up and threw her over his shoulder. Before she could react, the two boys were sprinting at full speed down the road.

As they reached the school, the entrance was blocked by a large crowd of students. Apparently, they were too scared to enter the courtyard. Pushing through them, Yamamoto heard Tsuna's voice.

"Oi," he said, "if we don't take a break, no one will make it to class on time."

"That would be bad for discipline," Hibari replied with a dangerous smile, looking up at the crowd gathered at the gates. With a small movement, he sheathed his tonfas. "Very well, we'll continue after school."

"I look forward to it," Tsuna replied with a cocky grin. Yamamoto couldn't have said why the two were smiling. They both looked threadbare and worn. Blood stained their uniforms in several places and both were drunkenly wavering on their feet. How long had they been going at it?

As Hibari retreated into the building, obviously heading for the Reception room, Tsuna turned to the crowd. "It's safe to come in now," he said. Yamamoto and Ryohei were the first to rush forward.

"You idiot!" Yamamoto growled half-heartedly, looking over Tsuna's cuts and bruises. "You were supposed to wait for me."

"Forgive me," Tsuna replied as he was helped to a seat on the school's front stair. "I had to come early to get Chrome set up and Hibari wasn't willing to wait any longer." They ignored the chattering crowd that was slowly walking past them into the building. The topic of conversation from all of them seemed to be Hibari and Tsuna. "I had really planned on waiting for you, Yamamoto," Tsuna said with an apologetic look on his face.

"Gah," the older boy said. "I'll forgive you. I don't think I could stop Hibari when his blood-lust is showing, either." Supporting Tsuna as the boy stood, he continued, "Lets go get you patched up. It looks like you'll be coming to class after all." With a nod, they made their stumbling way toward the nurses' office. Though Tsuna was too tired to notice, the crowd parted before him in awe. Behind him, Ryohei and Kyoko watched in silence, worry etched on their faces.

* * *

Across town at Midori Junior High, Gokudera lit a cigarette as he leaned against a branch. He was currently two stories above the ground in a tree, seriously following the orders that the 10th had given him. He'd been watching over the 'Hahi' girl's house since dawn. When she had left for school, the dynamite specialist had followed at a reasonable distance so not to be noticed. Now the girl was inside the building where the faculty hadn't let him follow. So, instead, he had parked himself as close to the girl's classroom as he could.

Too bad the tree didn't have much cover, he grimaced. The window to Haru's class flew open as the girl in question popped her head out. "What are you doing, Gokudera?!" There was a crowd of people behind her, curious as to what a guy was doing in the tree outside.

"Orders," he answered, fiddling with a fuse on a stick of dynamite. "The 10th sent me to watch over you and make sure nothing happens."

"Tsuna did...?"

"Ah," Gokudera agreed, still slightly agitated that his orders had sent him away from his boss. "So just pretend I'm not here."

"Like I can do that!" She yelled. When she continued, her voice was suddenly calm, "Did something happen?"

"You might say that." Gokudera didn't want to give her too much information. He wasn't sure what the 10th would want her to know, after all.

Haru became instantly energetic. "I knew Tsuna loved me! He sent someone to protect me!" She gave a little cry of joy. "He really does care!"

"Of course," Gokudera yelled defensively, grabbing a branch to steady himself. "The 10th is a man who's compassion is greater than anyone's!"

"But why didn't he come himself?" She asked as her enthusiasm wavered.

"He's busy," Gokudera grumbled. He really didn't like being away from the boss.

"Oh," the girl replied, saddened. There wasn't much Gokudera could say in return. Thankfully, she pulled back into her class and shut the window after a minute. Whether she liked it or not, the 10th was only one man. His way of protecting everyone wasn't by doing some simple bodyguard duty. That's what his subordinates were for. The 10th had a much greater task, Gokudera was sure.

Gokudera lit another cigarette and settled in for a long day.


	13. Chapter 13 Punishment

Tsuna sat with his head on his desk, not even bothering to focus on the teacher's lecture. Sakura had wrapped his ribs and cleaned his scratches. Other than some muscle aches, he would be fine. Although he was incredibly tired... 

For his part, the teacher had suddenly decided to pretend Tsuna didn't exist. He hadn't realized how dangerously he'd been walking along the edge of a cliff by his repeated attempts at punishment. Seeing the boy and Hibari fighting this morning--he broke out in a cold sweat at the memory. "It was better to pretend he didn't exist. Yes, much better," the teacher thought.

Then Tsuna started quietly snoring. The class giggled as the teacher turned red. For a full ten minutes, the teacher tried to continue the class, the words 'he doesn't exist' resounding in his head. Finally, when Tsuna turned his head and mumbled in his sleep, the teacher couldn't take anymore. The class had stopped trying to hide their amusement and were grinning openly at him.

The teacher stalked back to the boy's desk. With a loud thwap, he smacked Tsuna on the back of his head with a teaching manual.

"Five more minutes..." the boy said in his sleep.

The class giggled as the teacher's face turned purple. Yamamoto leaned back in his desk and smiled broadly. Tsuna was well known for being hard to wake.

Kyoko had been slowly starting to get up when Reborn made his appearance. She sat back down. "No helping it," the little guy said to the teacher. Pulling out Leon, he fired a shot out the open window and the bullet harmlessly embedded itself into the ground. The class was silenced and the teacher jumped back, startled.

The sound of gunfire caused Tsuna to react a bit differently, however. Within an instant, the boy was standing with his fists raised, ready to fight. His eyes darted around, trying to find the enemy. When he looked down and saw that Reborn was the one that fired, he relaxed. He yawned, rubbing his sleepy eyes as the adrenaline wore off. "What did you do that for?" he asked.

"If you want to sleep, go back to the nurse's office," Reborn replied. "Your snores were interrupting your class."

Looking up, he turned red with embarrassment as he remembered where he was. He was instantly apologetic, bowing repeatedly to the perplexed teacher. The class couldn't take it anymore. They erupted in laughter.

Tsuna decided it was probably better to retreat to the infirmary.

* * *

Tsuna had woken and returned to class after lunch, fully re-energized by his nap. The teacher, having realized that the boy was strong but not made of the same cloth as Hibari, had returned to normal. Albeit, he no longer had plans to punish the kid, but he was able to treat Tsuna like a normal student.

The boy was currently standing behind his desk, reading the text from his English textbook when he suddenly stopped. His book fell from his numb fingers as he looked out the window. Curious, the teacher looked out, as well. Several black vehicles had pulled into the courtyard. A man that the teacher recognized as Tsuna's father rushed forward to open the door of the foremost car and a man stepped out.

"Oh god..." Tsuna said, his face turning white in fear. The class stared as he began to tremble. "Y-Y-Yamamoto," Tsuna whispered, turning to his friend. "W-whatever happens...don't forget your mission. And.." The class looked at each other in puzzlement as Tsuna continued, his fear written on every inch of his body as the sound of footsteps could be heard coming down the hall. "And don't interfere," he finally said.

Yamamoto's concerned reply was interrupted as the door to the class flew open and Iemitsu walked in. He stepped aside as several more men in black suits silently walked past him, lining up across the wall. Finally, the man that Tsuna feared appeared, slowly stepping into the room.

Tsuna hesitantly walked forward and bowed at the waist. "9th Boss," he formally greeted the older man.

As started to rise from his bow, the man's short staff impacted his right shoulder with enough force that he fell to his knees. "I see you're still angry," Tsuna said from the floor, increasing his inner flames to just below the level of the Dying Will Flame. He didn't want the flame to flare out of his body just yet, since that would be considered a silent challenge to the man before him.

"You've put the whole Family in danger by your disobedience," the man said, looking out over Tsuna's silent class. Even the teacher hadn't moved an inch since the man's entry. Tsuna shifted, the 9th's staff still on his shoulder, quietly holding him down.

"I'm protecting them!" Tsuna yelled in reply, unable to restrain himself. "It's you who wants to throw them to the wolves, 9th boss! I won't follow orders that will allow them to come to harm!"

The look in the old man's eyes softened a bit, although Tsuna would still call them hard. "I have to think of the future of Vongola as a whole, young Tsunayoshi. As such," his eyes hardened again. "I can't allow your disobedience to go unpunished."

Tsuna was only allowed a moment of fear as the Dying Will Flame on the 9th's staff pulsed. Pain spasmed through his body. He screamed as his class looked on in shock. Yamamoto was trying to come to his aide, part of his mind noticed, but was being forcibly restrained by three men in suits.

Then as suddenly as it had started, the pain stopped. Dizzy with relief, he saw the 9th remove his staff. He felt cold and numb, he realized. A look of horror passed across his face as he looked at his shoulder. His right shoulder, arm, and part of his chest was covered in ice. He tried to move them and found he couldn't.

Looking up at the 9th, he saw the hardness disappear completely from the man's eyes. "I'll permit you to stay here," he said, ignoring the Tsuna's labored pants. "However, know that the price for disobedience won't be as light in the future." He knelt down next to the boy and put a kindly hand on his unfrozen left shoulder. "Don't fall for the enemy's trap. Survive, Vongola the 10th. The rest of the Family depends on it."

Without another word, he stood and left. After he was gone, the men in black suits released Yamamoto and followed silently. Yamamoto rushed forward, as did Iemitsu.

"I'm sorry," he said to his son. "The moment I called yesterday, the 9th left Italy. It seems he had a feeling this would happen." Tsuna waved away the apology as he tried to focus on breathing. Half his body was in stasis and his body was having trouble handling it.

"Get..." Tsuna panted, "Rings..." It hurt to say anymore.

"I'll get them," Yamamoto said ignoring the shock and confusion of the class around them. He remembered how all the Guardian's rings together had been able to melt the ice created with the Zero Point Breakthrough around Xanxus. The same thing should work for Tsuna.

"Kyoko!" He yelled as he ran back to his desk and grabbed his schoolbag. "Go get your brother and meet us in the infirmary. Hana, you go with her," he ordered. Still shocked and confused, Kyoko ran out of the room with Hana behind her. Pulling a flare Gokudera had given him from his bag, Yamamoto flung a window open and set it off. A blue fireball flew into the air. "I hope he sees it," Yamamoto muttered.

Iemitsu was helping the partially-frozen Tsuna stand. "I'll get him to the infirmary," he said with tears in his eyes.

Yamamoto nodded. "I'll go get Chrome and Hibari." Then, without a glance back at his silent class, Yamamoto left the room with his Shigure Kintoki in his hand.

"Hibari is going to come whether he wants to or not," Yamamoto declared to himself.

* * *

Across town, Gokudera's cigarette fell from his hand as he saw the blue flare go off. He'd given those to Yamamoto the previous night, cursing the fact that he couldn't be at the 10th's side. The only reason the baseball freak would have set one off is if the 10th was in trouble and needed Gokudera's help. Considering it had been a blue one instead of a red one, it was something other than the invisible enemy. Gokudera didn't care, the 10th needed him.

But he couldn't leave the 'Hahi' girl. Cursing, he jumped into the girl's classroom, shattering the window. Before anyone could react, he grabbed Haru and threw her over his shoulder.

"Gokudera!" she screamed as he jumped back out the same window. Using the tree as a ladder, he climbed down to the ground and set off at a run.

"Shut up!" He told her, bouncing her on his shoulder to silence her. "Something's happened with the 10th and I can't leave you."

"Something's happened to Tsuna?" she asked in horror.

He nodded then realized she couldn't see his head from her position. "I left flares with Yamamoto so that he could signal me if something happened. One just went off."

"Then what are you waiting on?" The girl yelled, "Run faster!"

Gokudera didn't have to be told twice.


	14. Chapter 14 Aftermath

Gokudera slid into the school's infirmary, tossing Haru down unceremoniously. "What happened?!" He yelled at Ryohei and Sakura. 

Sakura looked up from his desk, a look of torture on his face. "Part of his body has been frozen and I can't get it to melt."

"W-WHAT?" Without waiting for an answer, he pushed past Kyoko and reached for the curtains surrounding the infirmary bed. Flinging them open, Gokudera froze in horror.

Tsuna was lying unconscious on the bed, his hair matted with sweat from just the effort to breathe. An oxygen mask was strapped to his face, but it didn't seem to ease the burden. His shirt had been cut off where it was possible, but most of it still remained trapped beneath the ice that covered half his upper torso, shoulder, and upper right arm. His skin around the area had begun to turn blue as the coldness from the ice penetrated the surrounding flesh.

"H-How did this happen?" Gokudera asked, clutching the curtain for support.

"It was his punishment for disobeying his orders," Reborn answered from Tsuna's side. "It was done knowing it'd be only temporary, but it's still a harsh punishment."

"I could have been much worse," Iemitsu said from his seat beside the bed. "Traitors aren't typically allowed to be forgiven. Our world isn't that nice. The only reason Tsuna got off with only this much was because he's the 9th's heir."

"ONLY?" Ryohei exclaimed as a masked Bianchi walked in with Lambo unnoticed. Iemitsu had called them after tending to Tsuna the best he could.

"Ah," Reborn continued, "Typically the punishment for traitors is either torture, imprisonment, or death. It's probable that the 9th came in person to save him from the Vendiche's judgment. He couldn't go easy with the punishment, though, or else the Family's upper echelon wouldn't be satisfied."

"T-The 9th...?" Gokudera asked, falling to his knees. "The 9th did this?"

Iemitsu ignored him, "That's also why he probably gave Tsuna permission to stay. He knows that Tsuna wouldn't leave, regardless of how many orders were sent. The only way to keep him from having to be punished again is to give his blessing."

"B-but--" Gokudera was cut off by the entry of Yamamoto, Hibari and Chrome. There was a cut across Yamamoto's scalp, but otherwise he seemed fine.

"What happened?" Sakura asked as he handed Yamamoto a square cloth to stop the bleeding.

"Interrupting class is a violation of school discipline, apparently," the swordsman said, setting his Shigure Kintoki down.

Before anyone could say anything, he motioned for everyone to gather around Tsuna. As the Guardians raised their rings close to Tsuna, they began to react. Whether it was their proximity to Tsuna's Sky Ring and each other or if it was simply the group's focused wills, no one could say. One by one the rings lit up, displaying a rainbow of colored flame. One by one they placed their hands on the ice entrapping Tsuna. As Hibari laid his hand down last, the ice began to steam and crackle as it melted.

When they finally felt Tsuna's chest beneath their hands, they pulled back. There were six marks burned through the remains of his shirt where the flaming rings had momentarily touched him, but the ice was gone. Sakura pushed them out of the way, immediately getting to work. Tsuna's breathing had finally eased, but there were still the aftereffects of frostbite to deal with.

"If that's all," Hibari said blandly, obviously detesting the crowd of people. Iemitsu nodded and Hibari walked from the room without comment, to the relief of everyone else.

Reborn turned to Chrome, "It's unlikely he'll be in any shape to train for the next few days. I'll send word when he needs you again." The girl nodded and went off to tell Ken and Chikusa that she was ready to return.

Ryohei pulled his crying sister out of the room, escorting her back to class as Bianchi picked Lambo up and prepared to return home.

"Who's watching Tsuna's mother, I-Pin, and Fuuta?" Yamamoto asked.

"Dr. Shamal is keeping her company. They were having tea when I left," the Poison Scorpion answered. "He seemed quite happy to be asked to protect a woman for once." She left after blowing a kiss to her beloved Reborn.

"I've got to get back to class," Yamamoto said regretfully. "Tsuna wanted me to keep an eye on Kyoko and Ryohei won't be able to stay with her in class."

"Don't worry, baseball moron, I'll stay with the 10th." Gokudera chucked his thumb at Haru. "If she's here, I'm not breaking orders."

"Haru will stay with Tsuna!" She said with determination. Yamamoto nodded and followed in Bianchi's wake.

Sakura had been working away, ignoring the movement of people around him. He had removed the remains of Tsuna's shirt and had been applying heat wraps to the cold skin. Already the bluish tint to they boy's flesh had begun to fade.

"How bad is it?" Iemitsu asked, worried about his son.

"I won't know until we get his body warmed up," the doctor answered. "But I've got to be careful. If I warm him too fast, his body could go into shock. If I warm him too slow, there'll be scarring and possible tissue damage. For now, just get out of my way." Sakura pushed them outside the treatment area, shutting the curtains so he could focus.

"It looks like we'll just have to wait," Reborn told them.

Gokudera, Haru, and Iemitsu grumbled, but there was nothing they could do.

* * *

It was an hour and a half later before Sakura came out from behind the curtain. During that time, Hibari had been forced to clear the area around the infirmary three times as word spread and curious students lingered, hoping to see what had happened to Tsuna with their own eyes. He wasn't a very happy Disciplinary Head. Finally, he had one of his subordinates stationed outside, keeping any more crowds from forming.

Sakura looked tired but satisfied. "He's warmed and stable. Thankfully he wasn't frozen for long. There should only be a slight discoloration of the area , but that can be easily covered with a light tan. For now," he raised his voice, forestalling the happy cheers of relief, "he needs some rest."

"Is it safe to move him?" Iemitsu asked. He was relieved. Tsuna's hand had been horribly scarred from the ice because it had taken them too long to gather all the rings last time. It had been pure luck that everyone had been so close this time around.

After a moment of thought, Sakura answered, "No, I think it would probably be best to leave him here until morning. Partial frostbite like this isn't something that happens very often. Usually it only happens in industrial accidents involving liquid nitrogen. It's a pretty rare occurrence, so I'd prefer to keep him here so that I have supplies on hand if his condition changes."

Iemitsu nodded. He didn't like it, but it made sense. He turned to Gokudera and said, "I'll leave him in your hands." Not knowing how to respond to the amount of trust implied, Gokudera stayed silent, his eyes shining.

* * *

School let out and still Haru and Gokudera watched over the sleeping boy. Yamamoto had turned Kyoko over to Ryohei and left word that he'd be at Black Glove Mountain, training. Apparently being stopped by three armed men twice his size and experience had damaged his pride.

Around dinnertime, Tsuna finally woke. With Gokudera's help, he managed to get into a sitting position. Although, truthfully, he was merely propped up by pillows. Tsuna was still pretty weakened from his ordeal.

"Where...?"

"You're still at school, 10th," Gokudera answered. "The 9th left for Italy a few hours ago."

"I...see..." Tsuna said, looking down at his bare shoulder. He sighed in relief to see smooth skin looking back at him. The slight discoloration was barely perceptible. As he looked it over, a loud rumble came from his stomach. He hadn't eaten anything since before dawn and that had been only a cup of ramen.

"Gokudera," Reborn said, popping up from nowhere, "since Sakura is out getting some replacement supplies, you go fetch dinner from Mamman. I'll stay here and keep an eye on Tsuna and Haru."

Gokudera looked at Tsuna for permission. "Please," Tsuna said with a pitiful look on his face. "I'm starving."

As he left, Reborn tossed something into Tsuna's lap. Tsuna picked it up, revealing it to be a ring box. "This is...?"

"Your Demitirus ring. Patchwork gave it to me earlier. It seems she stayed up working on it all night and day for you." Tsuna opened it. Carefully nestled inside was a dark, black ring.

"There's no flames," Tsuna said as Haru sat on the side of his bed.

"That's because you haven't given it your flames yet, Baka-Tsuna. Patchwork said it would happen naturally as you wore it." Nodding, Tsuna put the ring on his middle finger so that it sat next to his Vongola Sky Ring. As he watched, he could see the faintest of sparks reflecting on the ring's surface. It was so faint he wasn't sure he'd seen it. "When she gave it to me, she said that it could take a few hours or a few days for the consciousness to be strong enough to survive on it's own. It all depends on the strength of the wielder's flame."

Having said what he needed to, Reborn disappeared. Tsuna was positive he was still nearby in case anything happened, though. Tsuna blushed faintly as he realized he was alone in the room with Haru. Not only that, but he was shirtless and the room was growing dark from the setting sun. He couldn't cover himself without being blatantly obvious and he wasn't sure what to do.

Haru didn't seem to notice his anxiety. "I'm glad your alright, Tsuna," she said from where she sat on his bedside. "I knew you'd be fine in the end," without hesitation, she laid her head on his bare shoulder, happy that he was okay. At first Tsuna was startled, but then he made himself relax.

A warm feeling washed over Tsuna. Haru had always cared about him, regardless of what other people thought. She had never been afraid to speak her feelings or show her affection. She'd always been the first to cheer for him, but had never let her affection stop her from telling him when she thought he was doing something wrong. He cared for her no less than he did Kyoko, he realized. That realization was what allowed him to put his arms around her, accepting her warmth.

"Haru," he told her after a few minutes had passed, "Thank you. I appreciate everything you do for me. Really."

"But...?" She had heard the unvoiced note of ache in his words.

"But the truth is that I care for Kyoko, too, and I don't want to betray that."

Haru seemed to wilt in his arms. "So you two are going out?" She asked as she pulled back.

Tsuna couldn't look her in the eyes. He'd accepted her warmth, yet he couldn't give her what she truly wanted in return. "N-no..." he said. "I asked her but then told her to forget it because everything got so---."

He was interrupted as Haru's lips met his own. After a moment of surprise, Tsuna couldn't help but close his eyes and fall into the sensation. So unlike the gentle warmth he'd felt radiating from Kyoko, Haru's lips were full of a passionate fire that consumed everything it touched. Tsuna couldn't control himself as he wrapped his arms back around her, pulling her closer. He was painfully aware of the heat coming from her body as it pressed against his bare chest. His body reacted to the sensation even as his mind was screaming he should stop.

Her hands were running through his hair as he broke off the kiss, gulping for air. Before he could get control of the situation, her lips were back on his, making him loose himself again. Her hands wandered across his shoulders and down his back, causing his body to spike with desire. His hands began to move on their own in response, rubbing her back as they moved up and down.

This time she was the one to break off the kiss, needing to breathe. Tsuna didn't notice. He quickly found a new target as she raised her chin for air. His lips caressed her neck, wanting...needing more. She let out a little moan of pleasure which made him pull her tighter against his chest in response.

The sound of humming in the courtyard outside made them both freeze. Gokudera had returned. Before he think about what he should do, she was already out of his arms and sitting calmly in the chair next to his bed. Well, maybe not calmly. Her face was flushed red even in the fading light of the sunset.

"W-What...?" He asked, trying to force his body to calm down.

She looked at him as her face took on a more natural shade. "I'm going to be a mafia's boss's wife," she smiled, falling back on her favorite line. Then she got serious for a moment, "You say you like Kyoko, TOO. That means you care for Haru, too. And you're not going out with her yet. So, why shouldn't I kiss you?"

"Um, eh," Tsuna tried to think of a response. His mind was blank. Haru had completely overwhelmed him like she always did, albeit in a very unexpected way this time.

He was almost grateful when Gokudera walked in carrying several bento boxes, saving him from having to think of a response.


	15. Chapter 15 Cycle

The next morning dawned bright and clear. Gokudera had fallen asleep in the chair, his head resting on Tsuna's bed. He had tried to stay up through the night, but eventually Reborn took over watch so he could sleep. Haru was sleeping comfortably in the spare infirmary cot, having had Yamamoto bring her some extra clothes from her house. 

Tsuna looked over at her, careful not to wake Gokudera. He smiled as she made cute little noises in her sleep, her hair flayed out across her pillow. If Kyoko was his sun, Haru had to be his moon. She was the light that waxed and waned in his heart, but was always faithfully there. Not a blinding light but a soothing one.

Trying to get a handle on his confused emotions, he looked down at his hands. There he noticed his ring which he'd left on through the night. The flame etched on it was strong and bright. Bringing it up to look closer, he could see the flames slowly dancing, seeming to want freedom.

"Are you there, little guy?" He whispered, wondering if the flames had grown strong enough yet.

The sound of his voice woke Gokudera. "10th...?" he muttered sleepily.

Tsuna didn't pay attention. The flames in his ring had responded to his question and were beginning to dance and flicker madly. "Are you ready to come out?" He asked it.

"Who are you talking to, Tsuna?" Haru asked as she sat up, rubbing her eyes.

He ignored her. The flames were beginning to get stronger by the moment and he couldn't take his eyes away. Reborn jumped up onto the bed holding his morning cup of coffee. "Is it already ready?" He asked.

Tsuna nodded. "I think so, but I'm not sure how to let it out. The flames are getting stronger, but they seem to be trapped."

"It's probably waiting for you to tell it that it's okay. Until it's released, the flames are still yours."

"What does that mean?"

"In other words, until you formally give it freedom, the flames stored in there are still part of you. Patchwork told me about it. In times of war, people used the rings as storage devices for the flames. They'd feed flame into it during the little rest they got and used it during battle."

"Wouldn't that...kill...the creature inside?" Tsuna asked in horror.

Reborn nodded. "That's why Patchwork said that the flames were _typically_ loyal to their creators. There were times in the past that the flames raged out of control when they were finally released, because the ring had been put through too many cycles of birth and death."

Tsuna was horrified. "I don't want to do that! That's not why I got this ring."

Haru and Gokudera were still completely confused. "What are you talking about, Tsuna?"

Reborn interrupted before Tsuna could explain, "Then give it permission to be free."

He nodded and told the flames in the ring, "It's alright. You can come out, if you want." The ring reacted quickly as the flames turned from mere etchings to life. The fire flared brightly as it left the ring, it's orange color bringing sounds of amazement from his friends. Tsuna wondered what kind of creature it would be.

"Patchwork said it would grow first," he said to the others, remembering how the woman's dove had appeared. The flame detached itself from his ring, hovering in the air. Unlike Patchwork's, however, this flame seemed to grow not only in size, but in length. It stretched until it was slightly longer than his arm, although it seemed strangely flat. He looked over at Reborn, who shrugged.

"After that was...um..." Tsuna tried to remember how Patchwork had explained it and failed.

"Compression," Reborn supplied. Tsuna nodded. The creature had already started the process as Gokudera and Haru exclaimed over it. The flame seemed to shrink, ever so slightly. Tsuna was surprised when it only shrunk half as much as he expected and started taking on texture and characteristics. Unsurprisingly, the first thing Tsuna recognized was a fin.

He'd honestly half-expected his new friend to be some kind of fish. However, he was still a bit curious at it's shape. Fortunately, the process seemed to be proceeding rapidly. Scales started appearing as well as it's face. The fin he'd noticed before seemed to stretch and continue all the way down it's back.

"It's an eel!" Haru exclaimed, being the first to recognize it. Tsuna couldn't refute her. It was definitely taking the shape of an eel, even if it was a bright orange one.

Finally it was complete. Hovering before him, seeming to swim through the air, was a bright orange eel. Tsuna put out his hand and the eel brushed it's head up against it in greeting. Tsuna ran his hand down it's side, amazed at the smooth texture of the scales. Much like Patchwork's dove, this creature seemed to emit a controlled heat. It wasn't enough to burn him, but it wasn't a heat he could ignore.

"You should give it a name, Tsuna," Reborn said, breaking Tsuna's train of thought. The eel turned toward Reborn. Before the little guy could move, the eel swam around him in a happy little circle. Small sparks fell from it as it moved, although they didn't seem to burn anything they landed on. Not even the blanket covering Tsuna's legs.

Tsuna laughed, "Alright, what should we name you?" He asked the little creature. The eel swam back over to Tsuna and Tsuna could sense the creature didn't know either.

"How about Tiger?" Haru suggested, trying to think of a name for an orange pet.

Tsuna shook his head. "That would too weird. An eel named Tiger? That would be like naming him something like Hippo or Salmon," he paused as the eel gave a little twirl. "Did you like that name? Tiger?" The eel shook itself side to side as a negative. "Hippo?" It shook itself even harder. "Salmon?" This time it twirled in happiness. "You want to be called Salmon? Are you sure? That's the name of a different kind of fish, though. You're an eel."

"Technically, the official name is a salamander. He's just taking the form of an eel," Reborn corrected. "So, if he wants to be called Salmon, it shouldn't be too strange."

"I think it's cute!" Haru exclaimed. "Salmon and Tsuna! Two little fishes!"

Tsuna groaned, but couldn't turn down the little guy's enthusiasm. He couldn't say how he knew, but he could definitely tell the creature was enthusiastic about the name. "Alright," he told the little eel, "Salmon it is."

Salmon swam up to Tsuna and nuzzled his cheek in happiness. "Nice to meet you, too," Tsuna said.

* * *

The appearance of the flying eel was a surprise to everyone, although his Ring Guardians seemed to get used to the presence pretty quickly. Salmon's favorite person other than Tsuna seemed to be Gokudera. He kept swimming up to the poor guy's belt, sniffing at the miniature dynamites stored there. Every time, Tsuna would have to suppress a laugh as Gokudera would begin fidgeting. Heat and dynamite went well together, but not when it was still strapped on his body. Tsuna wasn't worried, though. He knew Salmon wouldn't emit enough heat to actually light them. He'd already explained to the eel that doing such a thing would hurt one of his friends.

Ryohei had kept trying to catch the little fellow. Once, he actually managed to grab him, his fist enclosing Salmon's tail. The eel had looked back at his tail with a little bob and tilt of his head that said, "Good job, but not good enough." Before Ryohei could respond, the creature had dissipated the flames in that area, recollecting it as he swam away. Even though he looked and felt solid, he was still made of flames. Ryohei became even more determined to catch the uncatchable.

Yamamoto had merely petted it, then went on his way. Haru tried to cuddle it every chance she got, but the little creature had a playful streak. It kept letting Haru grab it, then would swim up around her arm before getting away. Reborn ignored it completely, pouring extra attention on Leon. Leon, for his part, didn't seem to be jealous. He seemed perfectly content with Reborn's caring gesture.

Tsuna was told that Kyoko had seen Salmon and was fine with him. She seemed to be avoiding him, he thought unhappily. Although it was to be expected after his actions toward her, he couldn't help but feel disappointed. They had told him that she'd been by to check on him, but would only come in the doors of the infirmary when he was asleep.

Seeming to pick up on his mood, Salmon swam up and settled himself across Tsuna's shoulders like a snake, nuzzling Tsuna's cheek as the boy reached up and petted it.

At least he had one 'person' who understood. It was obvious. They did share the same flame, after all.

* * *

Two more days passed and Tsuna was released from Sakura's care. He still wasn't ready to face his class after everything that had happened, so he trained through school hours in the Dojo. As a week passed, Hibari stopped by the Dojo several times. "By chance," he claimed. Each time, Tsuna would purposely make a breach in Hibari's sense of discipline. Each time, they would come to a stop after several hours of fighting for some silly reason and go their separate ways. The practice was helping Tsuna, little by little. He was getting hit less, although so was Hibari.

Finally Tsuna decided he had to return to school. With Salmon sleeping in his ring, he entered the school grounds. He was a little surprised at how his classmates treated him. While they didn't run away, they also didn't make any move to get close. Before, they wouldn't have even noticed his presence. With a small sigh, he walked up to his classroom. Nothing came without a price.

Gokudera wasn't present. He was probably still watching over Haru, Tsuna realized. Kyoko was already at her desk, chatting with Hana about something.

Yamamoto made his way over to Tsuna as he walked through the door. "Good morning, Tsuna," he said.

The class got suddenly very quiet. Everyone was staring at him, he realized. Tsuna started to back out, not wanting to be the center of attention like this, when a voice called out, "Wait." Tsuna stopped in surprise. It was Kyoko. She seemed to be unsure of herself, but the hand reaching out to stop him from across the room was steady. "D-Don't go," she said as she dropped her arm. His legs suddenly felt like lead. He couldn't have moved forward or backward if he tried. "I was told that we were the reason you got hurt," she said, meaning 'we' as in his friends.

"No," he said. "I was the one that chose to disobey. It has nothing to do with you," he decided to go with the partial truth. It did have to do with her. But only his desire to see her safe.

She wasn't going to let it slide this time. "Then why did you do it?" She was looking at her hands, unable to meet his eyes. "Why didn't you just do what they told you to?"

"Because...Because it wasn't the right thing to do," he answered simply.

"Why are you always like that?" she asked quietly, obviously not expecting an answer. "You're always trying to do 'the right thing' no matter how much you get hurt. You're only human, you know!" She fled from the room crying and Tsuna could only stand in shock.

He turned to Yamamoto, "When did doing what's right become so wrong?" His face must have conveyed his confused emotions because the other boy could only shrug.

The crowd seemed to take that as a cue to break out talking. Tsuna ignored them as he made his way to his desk and set his bag down. He wasn't sure if he should go after her or not. After a few minutes, he finally decided. As the teacher walked in the room, Tsuna walked out. He'd set things straight with her. Somehow.

* * *

Tsuna was starting to get worried. He'd checked the hallways, the commissary, and everywhere else he though she might be. He even had a girl go in and check the bathrooms. He couldn't find her. He finally decided to check the roof. That's where he always went when he needed to think, so it's possible she went up there expecting him to come find her.

Tsuna sighed as he opened the roof door. She was standing at the edge of the roof, a few feet back from the railing. As she turned to look at him, however, he felt a chill. Something wasn't right.

He allowed his inner flame to flare, trying to determine what was wrong. As she looked at him, the fear on her face was unmistakable. Her shoulders and body were tense. "What's wrong?" He asked.

Before she could respond, something beside her flickered into view before fading back out. Horror was written on Tsuna's face in an instant. Someone was holding her by the throat, keeping her from calling out. Before he could even move, she was flung backward off the side of the building.

Tsuna didn't hesitate. He ran to the edge and jumped, the flame bursting out onto his head. Reaching out, he grabbed her as she seemed to hover in place from momentum, gravity having not yet taken hold. Tsuna gritted his teeth as he used one arm to secure her and flared the flame in his other hand to keep them from plummeting.

He was one hand short, he realized, as something silently pierced his back. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the assailant behind him. The guy in the invisibility suit had been a decoy. This was the real foe. His back was pierced two more times before he could react to the newcomer.

"Salmon," he breathed. In an instant, the eel appeared, forming faster than he thought was possible. It swam off toward the enemy as Tsuna landed with Kyoko. He let her go and pressed his back against the wall for support. He wasn't sure what had hit him, but it was painful.

The little eel returned quickly, the enemy having apparently gotten away. Tsuna wasn't surprised. The eel was still pretty new to the world and wasn't trained for combat. The most he'd hoped for when he called for the little guy was a distraction.

Yamamoto was looking out the window, wondering what had happened. So was everyone else. It wasn't everyday that someone came flying off the roof and could land calmly in the courtyard. When Tsuna didn't move, he jumped out of the second story window with his Shigure Kintoki in his hand. Tsuna couldn't help but grin as the swordsman's light landing brought appreciative mutters from people looking out.

"What happened?" he asked simply. "You're not the type to suddenly want to show off in front of everyone."

Tsuna smiled as he realized the incident had been nearly silent. Kyoko had been too scared to scream and even now she was standing too shocked to move. "Enemy on the roof," Tsuna replied, wondering what had hit his back. The pain was starting to get worse, he noticed as he leaned against the wall harder for more support. "I only saw him for a second, but they had grabbed Kyoko." Why was it getting so hard to breathe all of a sudden? "There was a guy with a dark red sash. There was some kind of emblem on it that I didn't recognize." Yamamoto started to move to pursue but Tsuna waved for him to stop. "Don't bother, he's already gone," he said, suppressing the sudden urge to cough.

"I'll send a flare for Gokudera. He needs to know," the swordsman said, giving Tsuna a worried look for some reason. Walking back across the courtyard, he called up and had someone throw down his bag. Within seconds, a bright red flare shot into the air.

Reborn appeared. "I lost him in the warehouse district," he said. "It looks like they tried to send someone to do the work in person, this time." He looked over at Tsuna. Within an instant, the little hitman noticed the sweat breaking out on the boy's head and the small motions reflecting pain. Salmon was swimming in little agitated circles over the boy's head. Tsuna, for his part, seemed to be ignoring his pain in favor of trying to get Kyoko calmed down. Ryohei appeared, wanting to know what was going on, but Reborn instantly interrupted.

"Oi, Tsuna, what's wrong?" He asked in concern.

"I'm not sure," he answered honestly. "Something hit my back, I think." As he said that, the urge to cough became too great. He tried to control it, but the coughs didn't seem to want to stop. Worse, he could taste blood. As he leaned forward a bit from the force of the harsh coughs, a sudden wave of dizziness knocked him to his knees. He tried to hold himself up with one hand, using the other to cover his mouth.

A sudden scream from Kyoko made him raise his head. Looking at where she was staring behind him, he realized the wall that he'd been using to support himself was covered in blood. And a lot of it. Before he could even think, another wave of dizziness hit him and he fell onto his stomach.

Reborn cursed as blood began flowing out of the corner of Tsuna's mouth. He inspected the wounds as Yamamoto rushed inside to get Sakura. "You've been shot," Reborn told the boy as he pressed on the wounds, trying to slow the blood flow. "Three times." Ryohei and Kyoko had finally seemed to realize what was going on. The blood on the wall was Tsuna's. They both knelt down in a rush, trying to do their best for him.

"Bu--" He didn't get any farther as he began coughing again, blood spewing onto the ground by his face.

"They must have used a silencer," Reborn explained, trying to keep Tsuna focused on something. "Some kind of new model, because I didn't see one on the gun that guy was carrying. You probably have some internal injuries that got larger from your coughing." He cursed again as he realized it was pointless. Even with him, Ryohei and Kyoko each trying to put pressure on the wounds, Tsuna had already lost a lot of blood. He was barely conscious.

"Stay with us, damnit!" Ryohei roared.

"Oi, Tsuna," Reborn was starting to call loudly. "Pull yourself together!"

Even Kyoko began to cry out.

"Thank you," Tsuna whispered quietly, thinking it was the right thing to say. Through the dizziness, he could see Sakura and Yamamoto rushing up in the distance and he could hear everyone's yells, but suddenly they seemed so far away. And the darkness had never seemed so inviting.

* * *

As Sakura ran up, Reborn pulled back out of the way and dialed for Dino. He ignored the blood on his hands and focused on getting help. The facilities here at the school weren't equipped for the type of heavy surgery Tsuna would need. As he sent out orders, the small hitman allowed himself a moment to shudder. It was partially his own fault his student was like this. If he had noticed that Tsuna had been shot, he could have gotten help sooner. But he hadn't noticed. He'd been too focused on catching the enemy that threatened the mafia Families as a whole. And even then, the enemy had gotten away.

"Shit," Sakura cursed, doing his best to give first-aide until help arrived. "He's going into shock," he cried. Ryohei and Kyoko both followed his agitated orders, trying to help Tsuna to the best of their ability.

Yamamoto rushed forward as Gokudera came flying through the courtyard with Haru over his shoulders, once again unceremoniously dropping her as he saw everyone else. He quickly filled the other boy in on what had happened as the dynamite specialist forcefully pushed Kyoko aside and took over trying to put pressure on one of the bandages on Tsuna's back.

"Damnit!" He yelled. "I knew I shouldn't have left his side," tears were streaming down his face as he listened to Sakura's orders. He wanted to knock the hell out of Yamamoto for letting the boss get like this, but keeping the 10th alive came first. Haru ran over to Kyoko, trying to calm her down. She was looking at the blood on her hands in horror, shock etched into every ounce of her being.

Yamamoto was busy trying to explain to the faculty what had happened. They were coming out in droves, as the students in the classrooms watched in shock from the windows. He'd much rather be down there helping Tsuna, but he knew he'd just be in Sakura's way. The best thing he could do right now was keep anyone else from getting in the way.

Above them, Salmon was sending off agitated sparks as his creator...his friend and partner...was dying. When Sakura yelled, "Damnit! He's stopped breathing," and turned him over to begin CPR, the little creature knew what it had to do. It dived. Before anyone could move, Salmon hit Tsuna's forehead and disappeared, only to be replaced with a Dying Will Flame. Sakura ignored it, too busy trying to get Tsuna's heart and lung to start working again.

He was still trying when the ambulance arrived less than a minute later. He continued trying as they rushed to the hospital. He never gave up trying.

That was his job as a doctor, after all.

* * *

Sakura walked into the waiting room, his scrubs covered in blood from the surgery. The whole family waited for the words that he didn't want to say. At the look of worry and dismay on their faces, he didn't know what to do. No matter how much his training with Dr. Shamal had prepared him for any wound, it hadn't prepared him for dealing with the family of the wounded.

"Say something, damnit!" Gokudera snapped finally. "How's the 10th? He's going to be alright, right?"

"No," Sakura said finally. "He's not. His body is still alive, thanks to life-support, but we can't find any activity in his brain. I can't really explain it. We should be able to find some activity because the Dying Will Flame is still active, but he's...he's just not there anymore."

The silence in the room was deafening.

* * *

He was sitting alone on the side of a lake, his feet warm despite being dipped in the water. He was tired. So, very, very tired. Yet at the same time, he felt very light. It was as if he'd been bearing a heavy burden for a long time and had finally set it down to rest.

So he sat on the side of the lake, content with doing nothing. Being nothing.

The cry of a bird caught his attention as it flew across the sky. "There's no horizon," he said to himself. He was startled at his own voice. Something told him it should be deeper, more harsh. It sounded too carefree to be his own voice.

"So," a voice said from behind him, "You've finally come back to this side of the cycle."

"Cycle?" he asked. He felt he should know the owner of the voice, but he was too content to bother remembering.

Quietly coming up beside him, the man who's voice he'd heard leaned over. Ever so gently the man took hold of his legs and pulled his feet out of the water. As they came free, his memories returned. He looked up at the man who held his feet again. "Mukuro...?"

"The cycle of life and death," he was answered. Mukuro released Tsuna's feet and sat down beside him. The taller man's eyes narrowed, "Or do you not remember yet?"

"I-I remember...pain..." he said, trying to think. He rubbed the side of his head while Mukuro looked at him. "And some people yelling, I think. I-I can't really remember." The invisible weight on Tsuna's shoulders seemed to increase with every memory he tried to pull up.

"Shh," Mukuro said, putting his arms around him and holding him close. "You don't have to remember. It's so painful, the path of humans. Cycle after cycle, I can't understand why you keep choosing such a destructive and horrifying path. It pains me to see you suffer through it over and over again."

"W-what are you talking about?" Tsuna said, relaxing into Mukuro's chest. The other man seemed suddenly so reliable and strong. He let himself lean on that strength, not wanting to question his own sudden trust.

"Time after time, you bear this burden alone." He seemed to be talking out toward the non-existent horizon. "When will you finally let the horsemen free? The path of humans isn't worth such pain."

"Horsemen...?" What was Mukuro talking about?

"It doesn't matter," Mukuro answered softly, suddenly coming to a realization. "Rest here a while?" he asked. "Time doesn't matter here in the place between cycles. Let yourself put down your burdens at least for a while." The tension ran out of Tsuna at the thought of being able to rest, and he allowed himself to be soothed by the hand gently rubbing his back.

"Rest...sounds good," he said, laying his head into Mukuro's lap. He didn't really understand it, but here in this time and place, he felt reassured by Mukuro's presence. It was nostalgic, although he couldn't say why. There was a sense of understanding flowing from the other that seemed to wrap Tsuna in a warm gauze and protect him as he rested.

Mukuro gently ran his hands through Tsuna's hair, as if he was trying to sooth away a hidden pain in his heart. Tsuna wasn't sure how much time passed like that. Somewhere in his mind he didn't want to question it. He just wanted to rest. He closed his eyes, letting the warmth of the sun soak into his weary body.

The sound of crying broke him out of his content daze. He opened his eyes and looked up at Mukuro who was looking back down at him with a surprising gentleness in his eyes.

He heard it again. He didn't know why, but the sound made his heart clench in pain. "Who's crying?" He asked.

"The people you left behind," came the sad answer. "The people that burdened you with such heartache and responsibility."

"That...that's not right..." He said, becoming confused. "I...I left people behind...?" The cries got louder and his heart clenched tighter. Mukuro pulled him into his arms as if trying to keep those cries from reaching him. Tears began falling from Tsuna's eyes. "It hurts," he clutched Mukuro's shirt, as if begging him to make them stop. "They're all crying out for me. They won't let me rest," he sobbed.

"Shh," the other man said gently as Tsuna cried in his arms. "You can rest here as long as you need." The cries in his mind seemed to fade a bit and Tsuna relaxed into Mukuro's comforting embrace.

"I-I can't rest," he sniffed after he'd cried every tear he could. "I have to go back, they need me."

"Alright," Mukuro said. "I'll show you the way back. But if you ever need to rest again, I'll be waiting for you on this side of the cycle." He leaned down, brushing Tsuna's lips with his own. Staring into his eyes with such caring and compassion that Tsuna was moved beyond words. "Always," he said.

Releasing Tsuna from his arms, he helped the boy stand. Standing behind him, Mukuro leaned down and whispered into his ear, "Close your eyes." Tsuna obeyed, letting his eyes gently fall shut. "Just as Chrome is my anchor into the Path of Humans, you too still have an anchor holding you there. Do you see it?"

Tsuna saw it. It was a flame hovering just within reach of his mind's eye. "Reach out and embrace it," Mukuro said, his voice full of emotions that Tsuna couldn't even name.

Tsuna reached out for the flame as he was told. In an instant, he was consumed by pain and darkness.


	16. Chapter 16 Return

Three days had passed since the incident. The Dying Will Flame was still brightly burning on Tsuna head. They finally had been able to remove the life support when Tsuna's body began working on it's own again, but he was still unresponsive. 

Kyoko and Haru came daily. Sitting on his bedside, Haru said, "It's just like last time, isn't it?"

Kyoko nodded numbly. Once again, Tsuna was lying asleep in a hospital bed, unable to answer her. "He..." she began crying, unable to help herself. He's like this because of me, she thought. He's like this because he saved me! "Why?" she asked out loud through her tears. "Why did he save me? Why did he go so far for me?"

"Because it was the right thing to do," Haru answered. Haru sat on Tsuna's bedside and brushed the hair from his face, careful not to touch the Dying Will Flame. "That's why Tsuna is Tsuna. He always puts others first, even over his own pain and fear. He always tries to do his best. He follows his chosen path with modesty and determination." She smiled gently at his sleeping form. "That's why I love him. Isn't it the same for you?"

Kyoko's was silenced as she heard not only Tsuna's words, but her own reflected back at her. Even though he'd hurt her, she was positive now that he hadn't done it out of malice. In his own way, he had been trying to protect her. Just like he always did. So she nodded to Haru, silently agreeing in response to the other girl's question.

Haru patted Kyoko's hands where she had them folded in her lap. "Don't worry. He never gives up, remember? He'll be fine." The dark-haired girl left eventually, leaving Kyoko alone at Tsuna's side. The rest of the Family had been in and out throughout the past few days, but most of them seemed to be focusing on something else.

Looking at Tsuna, Kyoko couldn't find the strength to say he'd be fine. The doctors had propped him up in bed, trying to ease his suffering with a multitude of soft padding. Even so, she could see pain in his unconscious expression. She looked down, her heart hurting at the sight of him. They had told her he was brain-dead. He was never going to be the same again, no matter how much Haru hoped.

Kyoko began crying again, unable to stop herself.

While she was sunk in her own pain, something was happening with Tsuna. Had she been looking at him, she would have seen the Dying Will Flame on his head slowly fade as Salmon swam back into view. She would have been able to watch as his eyes slowly opened and he returned to the world. As it was, she didn't see until he had reached up and caught one of her falling tears.

She looked up, startled. He was looking at her with eyes full of pain and sorrow. "I can't rest when you're crying," he whispered, unable to talk louder.

"Tsu-na?" she asked.

"I heard you crying, so I came back," again his voice was low from weakness and pain.

She couldn't help herself. She began crying harder. Although this time, they were tears of relief and happiness. "I'm so glad," she said around sniffles.

When she'd calmed herself, he asked weakly, "I'm so tired...W-would it be okay if I sleep for a little bit?"

She nodded, brushing his hair from his face as his eyes closed. At first she was scared that he would fall into an unnatural sleep again, but was relieved when she saw his eyelids lightly moving. He was dreaming.

Quietly she got up and went outside the room, closing the door softly so as not to wake him. She couldn't help herself as she sank to her knees and cried again. Haru had been right. He's was going to be okay. She should have had more faith.

About that time, Dino came by to check up on Tsuna and found her in the floor in front of his room. "Are you okay?" Dino assumed she was crying because of Tsuna's condition. He knew how hard it was to see Family hurt to such a degree.

She surprised him, however, when she jumped to her feet and gave him a huge hug. "He woke up!" she cried with an incredible smile. For a moment, her words didn't seem to penetrate his mind. Then in the next moment, he was twirling her around in joy.

"Really?!"

"Really!" She replied, the sun once again shining from her face.

* * *

For the rest of the day, Dino had trouble keeping people out as word spread. Each of them would force their way past him, wanting to see Tsuna for themselves. Every time, they'd come back happy and relieved after a few minutes.

Oddly, every single person seemed to say the same thing. "He said he was tired and wants to sleep for a little bit." For Tsuna to assert the same thing time and time again showed how tired he truly was.

Hibari, of course, didn't bother to visit. Not that anyone really expect him to. He wasn't interested in half-dead prey, after all. Plus, he was too busy getting the blood cleaned off of his beloved school.

Everyone was a bit surprised when Chrome stopped by early the next morning. She silently walked in the room past the other visitors and stood by his bed. "Boss...?" she asked.

Tsuna looked up, ignoring the other people in the room. He wasn't really sure what to say even though he'd had Reborn send for her. He looked back down as tears began streaming from his face to the dismay of the onlookers. "Tell him," he finally said as he reached up and petted a very concerned Salmon. He remembered everything that happened on the other side of the cycle. Mukuro had helped his spirit rest and had comforted him in a way that no one else could. Although he didn't know Mukuro's reasons, he was grateful. "Tell him, thank you."

Chrome nodded, understanding in a way that he doubted anyone else in the room could. Without another word, she left. He was relieved. He didn't want to have to explain what had happened on the other side. He wasn't sure he even could.

"I want to go outside," he said, suddenly having the urge to see the horizon. Thankfully, no one objected.


	17. Chapter 17 Delving

"Reborn," Tsuna grunted, shifting his position on the bed to a more comfortable one. While he wasn't in a critical condition anymore, the pain was nothing to joke about. "We can't wait for them to attack anymore. We need to find them and stop them before anyone gets hurt." 

"Baka-Tsuna, someone already did get hurt." Reborn was sitting on the edge of Tsuna's hospital bed, cleaning Leon in his gun form. The room was a bit stuffy, considering Dino had refused to let him have a room with windows.

"You know what I mean," Tsuna replied blandly. "Have you gotten anymore information on them?"

Reborn shook his head. "I didn't get to see the guy's face. And the red sash didn't get any hits on our database searches."

"What about the emblem?"

Reborn stopped wiping. "What emblem?"

"The emblem on the guy's sash," Tsuna said. He didn't think Reborn could have missed something so obvious. The emblem was the first thing Tsuna had noticed. Even before he'd noticed the color of the cloth it was on.

"Can you draw it?" The little hitman asked, handing Tsuna a pen and paper. Tsuna nodded. Pulling the image up in his head, he tried to recall all the intricate details of it. After five minutes, he raised his pen to look at what he had drawn.

There was only a simple plain circle on the paper.

"Huh?" Tsuna said in confusion. "That's not it. It was like this..." He ripped the page off and tried to draw it again. When he finished, he raised the page to look at it. Once again, only a circle stared back at him.

"I don't understand," he rubbed his head. It had started aching as he tried to recall the emblem over and over again.

"Hmm..." Reborn muttered. "It's possible that something inside you is trying to keep you from sharing the information."

"Do you think it's something they did when...when I got hurt?"

"Who knows? But this makes me even more sure that the emblem you saw was important." Reborn jumped off the bed and started walking to the door. "I'll see if I can find a way to get it out of your head."

Tsuna nodded and laid back, resting while he had a moment of peace. At some point, he nodded off and began to dream. Unfortunately, it wasn't a happy dream. Of course, he hadn't had a happy dream since he'd been shot. But, unlike his normal dream reliving the horror on the school roof, this one was different. It was fragmented. Afterward, he could only remember the sound of horses and screams and the ever-flickering image of flame.

* * *

Iemitsu quietly walked into his son's room, shutting the door with a soft click. Reborn had called him and told him about their problem. It had taken him three days before the 9th had allowed him to go. The old man had been deeply disturbed by his heir's near-death experience. The Family as a whole were scared and jumping at every shadow. Was Vongola the next to be destroyed?

Tsuna was alone in the room. Visitors had been kept to a minimum for his safety and security cameras covered every inch of the room. Normally that wouldn't be enough, but Vongola scientists had finally uncovered how the invisibility suit had worked. Immediately the tech to see them via surveillance had been created and put into use.

On the bed, Tsuna tossed side to side in his sleep, obviously having a nightmare. On the back of his hospital robe, Iemitsu could see a bit of blood from where he'd popped a stitch open. He paused a moment, controlling his sudden urge to take his son and run into hiding. He knew, though, that the last Family hit had tried that very thing and been destroyed all that much faster.

Finally, he went over and gently shook his son awake. "D-Dad? Ack--" Tsuna's back arched as the pain from his wound hit him. Using the intercom attached to the bed, Iemitsu called for Sakura who quickly fixed the stitch and added some medication for the pain to Tsuna's IV.

As Sakura left the room, Tsuna continued what he'd been trying to say. "Dad? What are you doing here?" He was a bit drowsy from the medication, but otherwise seemed fine now.

"Reborn sent for me," his father replied gently, helping Tsuna sit up more comfortably. "He said you saw something that could identify the people that hurt you? But you couldn't get it out of your head?"

Tsuna nodded, trying hard to focus. "I might be able to help." Iemitsu sat in the chair next to the bed. "You remember how the 9th touched your mind during the Ring Battles?" he asked. He'd been told about the incident from Reborn.

Again, Tsuna simply nodded as a feeling of contentment washed over him. Whatever Sakura had added to his IV was strong. "That's a technique called Delving. I'm going to teach it to you." Iemitsu noticed the look in his son's eyes as the boy tried hard to keep them from closing. He got up and gently pushed his son down into a laying position onto the bed. "For now, just get some rest. I'll be here when you wake up." Tsuna nodded a final time before giving in. Within an instant, he was asleep with creases forming between his eyebrows as he began to dream.

"My poor cute little son," his father cried softly.

* * *

A week passed and Tsuna still couldn't get the hang of the technique. He'd managed to get the flame to form on his finger just fine, but had been completely unable to pass the image over to his father. Finally he threw his hands up in the air. "This isn't working, at all," he said. "Maybe it's connected to the trouble you have even drawing it."

Tsuna nodded numbly. He'd been trying every waking moment to get the technique down, but something was stopping him. "Is there some way we could do it in reverse?" He asked. "Instead of me passing it to you, you can come in and get it?"

Iemitsu stopped and thought with a hand on his chin. "Maybe..." Tsuna looked up in hope. He was willing to do anything if it would help find the enemy and ensure the safety of his Family.

The enemy had been strangely quiet since shooting him. Reborn suggested that they were waiting for the Vongola to loosen their guard again. For now, the whole Family was too tightly-strung for their normal surprise tactics and kidnappings to work. They would have a hard time getting a hold on any of the Vongola for a while. At first Tsuna had been glad, but then he'd realized it only proved how patient the enemy was willing to be.

"Lets try it," Tsuna said, resolute in wanting to get the information out of his head.

"It's dangerous," his father warned. "I might see more than you want me to since you haven't underwent very much mental training."

"Even so...Even so, it's something we have to do." With a nod, Iemitsu walked over to the edge of Tsuna's bed and sat down. He had the boy lay down as Reborn watched intently from the side. It would be his job to push them apart and break the link if something went wrong.

Iemitsu created the flame on his finger, pulling from the Vongola blood that also ran through his veins. He might not be a boss, but he had the bloodline. He was Tsuna's father, after all. Ever so gently, he touched his son's forehead, linking their flames. "Think about the emblem."

Images flashed through Iemitsu's head so fast he could barely keep up. After a few moments, they finally settled.

_He didn't hesitate. He ran to the edge and jumped, the flame bursting out onto his head. Reaching out, he grabbed Kyoko as she seemed to hover in place from momentum. He gritted his teeth as he used one arm to secure her and flared the flame in his other hand to keep them from plummeting._

_He was one hand short, he realized, as something silently pierced his back. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the assailant behind him. A short man wearing a dark red sash embellished with a dark black emblem. The guy in the invisibility suit had been a decoy. This was the real foe. His back was pierced two more times before he could react to the newcomer._

Tears began to fall from Iemitsu's eyes as he relived the event from his son's eyes. Before he could pull away, the image flashed and was replaced. The image of flames encompassed his vision. The sound of horses and screams seemed to come from every direction.

Iemitsu snapped back to himself, his tears stopped by the shock of the violent images. Looking down, he saw Tsuna's hand on his wrist where he'd yanked it away. There was a panicked look in his eyes and sweat was forming on his head.

Reborn looked at them curiously. The whole thing had only taken only about ten seconds and there hadn't been any sign of problems until Tsuna had reached up and snatched the hand away. The father and son continued to stare at each other until finally Iemitsu broke the silence, "W-What was that?"

Tsuna let go of his fathers wrist and rubbed his temples. "A dream," he answered quietly. "I'd rather not talk about it. Did you see the emblem?"

Iemitsu nodded numbly, Tsuna's memories still fresh in his mind. "I got it. I don't recognize it, but I'll check the database."

"Do that," his son ordered coldly, still rubbing his aching head. Salmon laid on his partner's chest and rubbed against Tsuna's chin in concern. Iemitsu could only nod to the boy and leave, still obviously affected by the violent images he'd seen. Why did his son have such things in his head?

His Vongola blood told him he didn't want to know the answer.


	18. Chapter 18 Chat

Three weeks passed and Tsuna was starting to go stir-crazy. Other than his first request to go outside, he'd not been allowed out of his hospital room. With nothing to look at but white walls and three channels on the television, he was dying of boredom instead of blood loss. 

For once, he wished that his Family would harass him. Sadly, the hospital had been sent orders that he was only to be allowed visitors for two hours a day with the exception of Reborn. And even Reborn seemed preoccupied with something. He'd only shown himself twice since Tsuna had healed enough to stay awake through the day. Tsuna was even more grateful for Salmon's never-ending presence. Too bad the little fellow couldn't talk, he thought.

His father had sent word to Reborn that the enemy had been identified, but refused to say anything more. Tsuna had a feeling that the sudden lack of information was somehow connected with the dream his father had accidentally seen.

"Arg," he groaned to himself after realizing he'd memorized every line of the manga Yamamoto had brought him. "Screw this, I'm going outside." Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he went over and dug into his emergency bag. Gokudera had prepared it in case Tsuna suddenly had to leave the hospital because of enemy fire. With a smile at the other boy's thoughtfulness, he pulled out the sweatshirt and jeans that were carefully packed away.

After slipping on the clothes and sandals that had been inside, he looked in the bag to see what else was there. He ignored the grenades and other artillery packed away, but was relieved to find his gloves in one of the side pockets. Putting them on gave him a sense of security that he hadn't had in almost a month. After a moment of thought, he put the cell phone and billfold of emergency money from the bag into his shirt pocket. Better safe than sorry, he mused.

With a small stretch to check on his condition, he nodded to himself. He felt perfectly fine. Three weeks of forced rest had done it's job. The doctors were just being overprotective, he was sure. He carefully walked out his room after making sure no one was in the hall. He had the hood of his sweatshirt up, but he didn't want to be caught before he'd even gotten out the door. Salmon was even sleeping in his ring to keep him from being recognized.

He knew the others would be furious with him, but he wanted...no, needed to see the sky. Being held in the hospital with no windows was paramount to a prison to him. Tsuna ducked down a side hall, avoiding the nurses and finally found the doors out.

Even though he wanted to, he didn't pause the moment he got outside. Instead, he headed for the nearby park. He could enjoy the sky all he wanted to once he was seated comfortably on a park bench. The air was cool and the breeze felt nice as he walked. Winter had turned into spring without him even noticing. He'd been too preoccupied to notice.

For his own protection, he was holding his inner flame at a level just below that of the Dying Will. He wasn't going to be reckless just because of a simple desire for some freedom. Tsuna knew, probably more than anyone, that there were people out there trying to kill him. But he couldn't let that knowledge run his life. As he sat on a bench in front of the park's main water fountain, he looked at the sky and thought. He let his mind wander over everything that had happened to him since his Dying Will Trial.

How many times had he nearly died now? How many times had his friends and Family been put into dangerous situations because of him? Why were they willing to fight time and time again instead of getting as far from him as they could? What could he do to protect them?

One by one he silently asked these questions and one by one he tried to find the answer. He smiled to himself, realizing something. Somewhere along the lines he'd stopped asking himself "Why me?" and had accepted his role. He couldn't even pin down when. Maybe it had been at some point during the battle with the Varia or maybe when he had decided to undergo the trial.

"I'm an idiot," he grinned to himself. Tsuna felt someone sit on the bench next to him, but the lack of blood lust or killing intent from that person allowed him to ignore it. That is, until they spoke.

"How long are you going to play this game?" Turning to see the person sitting next to him, Tsuna realized he didn't recognize him. The sight of the red sash around the person's waist quickly caught his eye, though.

He didn't move, although a flash of surprise crossed his face before he could cover it. He was sure he didn't feel killing intent coming off of this person. But why was the enemy sitting next to him like they were old friends? Did he want to negotiate?

"If you would have just listened to us, it wouldn't have come to you getting hurt, you know." The man was carelessly sitting back in the bench with his hands resting behind his head. He was probably only in his mid-twenties and wore a black silk robe and pants that fluttered in the breeze. His hair was a short and untidy ebony that reminded Tsuna of his own. The man's eyes though, were what Tsuna noticed most. The man's eyes were cold pools of fire that seemed to hold knowledge that Tsuna wanted to shudder at.

"Listened to you?" Tsuna asked, trying to draw out information since the enemy had so willingly joined him for a chat. "I don't seem to remember you ever saying anything."

The man looked at Tsuna with narrowed eyes. Then he laughed. It was a sudden burst of amusement that Tsuna didn't know how to respond to. "Don't tell me that..." His eyes narrowed again and the amusement left his face. "Don't tell me that you really don't remember?"

"Am I supposed to remember something?" He replied.

"The Horsemen, damnit! You of all people can't forget the Horsemen!" The other man seemed to be in honest shock when Tsuna's face remained blank. He cursed. "No wonder Ari said you weren't any good anymore. I thought you'd finally turned traitor because of your be-damned caring heart. God knows you almost did in the last cycle. But the truth is you simply don't remember." The other man was laughing again, his face in his hands. Although, Tsuna wasn't sure if it was truly laughter or if he was weeping. The man got control of himself and turned to Tsuna again. "Where's your anchor?" he asked.

Not wanting to give the man a reason to leave yet, since he seemed so talkative, he whispered for Salmon to come out. He knew that Salmon was the flame he'd seen when Mukuro had shown him the way back. As the little eel swam into view, the man began laughing insanely. "No wonder," he said.

A sudden spike of killing intent caused Tsuna to jump off the bench as he allowed the Dying Will Flame to flow freely out onto his head. Where he'd been sitting was already half-melted from the acid pellet the man had just thrown at him.

"Go get help," he told his partner as he transformed his gloves, preparing to fight. The eel darted off before the man could react. Using his gloves, he dashed to the side, avoiding another pellet. He couldn't tell where they were coming from. The guy's hands weren't moving, but they were definately being emitted by him. He finally located the source as he dodged another. The man was spitting them out.

"That's an awfully dangerous weapon you have there," Tsuna said, dodging another. He hoped reinforcements would arrive soon. He didn't have any ranged attacks and getting close to someone spitting acid pellets was pure stupidity. Tsuna was tempted to try, but after a moment of thought he decided it wasn't worth the risk. The enemy had been too prepared in all their other encounters. He wouldn't be able to justify it to his Family if the acid made it through his flame shield. So, for now, the most he could do was to keep the man occupied.

The man's reply to his question almost brought Tsuna to a surprised standstill. "You should know. You're the one that helped me polish this skill. Oh," he amended in sarcastic rage, "That's right. You don't REMEMBER. You went and got yourself a new anchor, so of course you wouldn't know." Instead of spitting another, the man spewed. No less than twenty pellets came flying at Tsuna. Barely, Tsuna was able to fly into the air and dodge. Water began pouring across the park sidewalk as the walls of the fountain behind him were eroded.

Tsuna wanted to sag with relief when he heard Gokudera's yells coming closer. From the amount of footsteps he heard in the distance, the dynamite specialist had brought a crowd. Looking over, Tsuna wanted to curse. The other man had heard it, too. Before Tsuna could move to follow, he was already gone.

Landing carefully to avoid the acid-laced water, Tsuna waited for his friends to arrive. Gokudera came rushing into the park first and came to a stop when he saw the amount of damage. Nothing had been left untouched. From the sidewalks to the foliage, everything nearby had holes from the acid. Before Gokudera could react, Tsuna asked him, "Who's your friends?"

Behind Gokudera were at least ten men in black suits. "The 9th sent them over, 10th. They are backup in case anything happens." Gokudera couldn't help but give them a small glare before returning his attention to Tsuna. "Where did the enemy go, 10th?"

"He got away," Tsuna said carelessly. "Do any of you guys know how to collect acid?" One man stepped forward and bowed. Before he could introduce himself, Tsuna was already giving orders. "I need some of this acid collected and analyzed. Also, I need to know how it would react to the Dying Will Flame. Focus on countermeasures after the analysis is complete." He started to walk off with a shocked Gokudera in his wake and Salmon at his shoulder. Tsuna turned back, "Also, get this place cleaned up. I don't want some kid trying to play in the water and end up loosing his hand."

As they walked away, Tsuna turned to Gokudera. "We're going to Black Glove Mountain. I'm going to get information out of Reborn or my father even if it kills me."

"T-Tenth?"

Tsuna realized how cold he seemed. He pushed the Dying Will Flame out of sight and lowered his inner flame down to twice his normal level. He didn't want to lower it completely. Not while he was still the target of assassins. As his gloves melted back to it's fingerless dormant form, he said, "I'm sorry, it's just that it seems everyone knows more about what's going on than me. Mukuro, dad, even the enemy all seem to think I'm connected with something. But no one's talking. Mukuro and the guy I just fought both seem to think I've forgotten something and..." He gritted his teeth. "Even I feel like I've forgotten something very important and it gives me a bad feeling."

"10th..." Gokudera said in awe. "I'll go with you where ever you want, 10th. Just lead the way."

"Thank you, Gokudera," Tsuna replied, relieved to have someone watching his back. He had a feeling he was about to jump out of the proverbial frying pan and into the fire.


	19. Chapter 19 Past

Tsuna was halfway through the shopping district, his goal being the entertainment district just beyond, when he suddenly stopped and turned. Gokudera dropped back beside him asking, "What's wrong, 10th?" 

Tsuna shook his head and started walking again. He wasn't sure. It had felt like someone had just called his name from the middle of a crowd. He had stopped automatically without being able to see who had called out to him. It had been a moment of recognition that he couldn't explain. Tsuna had just instinctively reacted.

He stopped again, Gokudera barely stopping in time to keep from running into him. There it was again. It was more than just someone or something calling this time, though. It had become a tug. Someone needed him to find them and they didn't want to wait. Tsuna grabbed his head as the feeling got stronger and Gokudera looked like he was seriously worried.

But Tsuna had to answer the call. He didn't know why or how, but he had to. It wasn't something that could be ignored. Sweating from mental effort to restrain himself, he turned and started walking down the nearby alley.

"10th? What's wrong? Black Glove Mountain is this way," he pointed to the left as Tsuna stopped his faltering walk. The call was beginning to hurt. Tsuna broke into a run, circling behind the next building before Gokudera could react. He heard his friend running to catch up, but he didn't care. He had to make the call stop.

Tsuna stopped in front of a door. It was coming from inside, he was sure. Without hesitation, he kicked the door in as Gokudera stopped beside him in confusion. Going inside, Tsuna's eyes darted around as he clutched his head. They were in some kind of workshop. It was here, but where? Tsuna started walking again.

Suddenly, he could feel the direction more accurately. It was coming from below. The floor looked solid, but he was positive. His eyes settled on a rug peaking out from underneath one of the workshop tables. Again, he didn't hesitate as he threw the table out of the way. It slid as it hit the far wall, it's weight saving it from destruction. With a quick pull, he yanked the rug away, revealing a trapdoor.

"How cliche," he muttered as he clutched his head again. The spasms were getting stronger as the call went on. Gokudera had long since given up on getting an answer and hovered over his boss in worry. Tsuna pulled the trap door open. Inside wasn't the stairs he'd half expected. Instead, it was a small storage container holding a single black lacquer box embellished with a gold emblem. The enemy's emblem.

Tsuna picked it up with shaking hands. Lifting the lid carefully, he set it aside. He nearly cried when he saw what was inside. Nestled within was a single black Demitirus ring, it's surface devoid of flame. The moment he touched it, the call stopped and he dropped the ring as if he'd been scolded.

"Isn't that a ring like yours, 10th?" Gokudera asked quietly. Tsuna nodded feeling mentally weary from the ordeal.

"It was calling inside my head to come get it," he said. "But I don't understand, it's a blank ring..." He looked up at his friend in confusion as a loud noise was heard from the next room. Tsuna began to stand, but immediately fell back to his knees. The ordeal had weakened him more than he'd thought.

As he tried again to get to his feet, the door to the next room opened and someone walked into the room. "What the hell..." he heard a woman's voice say as he turned to look. Patchwork stood in the door, a look of extreme anger on her face. Beyond her, he could see her jewelry store looking back at him. Without realizing it, he'd come in the back door into Patchwork's workshop. Tsuna tried to wrap his mind around the fact when the look on Patchwork's face turned from rage to shock when she looked at the box in his hands. Darting forward, she snatched it away.

Tsuna clutched his head and moaned in pain as the ring box left his hands. "Please," he begged, reaching out for the box. Numbly, Patchwork let him take it from her hands. He clutched it to his chest, relief flooding into him as the screaming stopped. He was panting and sweating, but it had stopped. He sat against a nearby wall for support, still clutching the box to his chest.

"10th..." Gokudera breathed as his worry hit it's peak. As Tsuna tried to settle his mind and heart, Gokudera turned to Patchwork, his eyes reflecting his emotions. "He said it was calling for him. I've never seen the 10th like this."

Silently, Patchwork went to a nearby cabinet and unlocked it. Shock and incredulity was etched into her very fiber and she knew one surefire way to overcome it. She pulled out two large bottles and tossed one to the boy. "I need a drink," she said, pulling up a chair and collapsing into it. Tsuna could only nod. He'd never drank alcohol before, but he was sure that now would be a pretty good time to try.

Gratefully, he drank, letting it's fire warm his belly as a sense of calm contentment washed over him. Gokudera simply pulled up a chair and sat, watching over his boss the best he could.

* * *

Reborn found them several hours later by using the tracking device placed in his cell phone. Tsuna was collapsed against a wall holding a box loosely to his chest and Patchwork was barely conscious, her head laid on a worktable. Both had no less than three empty bottles next to them. With a sniff, Reborn recognized it as being a light whiskey instead of the traditional sake he had expected.

"Oi," he asked Gokudera, who was having fits in his chair as he watched over Tsuna, "what happened? I was told that Tsuna left the hospital and was attacked. What are you doing here?" Gokudera could only shrug. He honestly had no clue what was going on. His boss had been extremely angry, then had started following a silent call, then had collapsed and gotten himself completely drunk.

"I'm not sure," he said. "I think it has something to do with that box, but the 10th won't let anyone touch it."

Reborn went to look. Indeed, while the boy was loosely holding the box due to unconsciousness, there was a sense of possessiveness about him. Reaching out, Reborn started to take the box to have a look. Instantly, Tsuna's eyes popped open and he clutched it back to his chest. He wasn't even fully awake and he was already trying to keep anyone from taking it.

"R-Re-born...?" He asked unsteadily, still affected by the amount of alcohol he'd drank. Tsuna's eyes flared as his inner flame was increased, burning away the effects. "Reborn?" he asked again, this time with more focus behind it.

Before his tutor could respond, Patchwork lifted her head and supported it with her hand. "So, a Black Flame became a Sky Flame, eh?"

"W-what do you mean?" Tsuna asked, unsure if he really wanted an answer.

"Do you know why I don't sell those rings that are on display?" Without waiting for his response, she continued wearily, "It's because they all have owners already. Someone has already placed their flame in those rings. One day, or maybe never, the owners will find their way back to get them when they begin a new cycle."

"Cycle?" Reborn asked curiously. "You mean the cycle of life and death, correct?"

"Aye," she replied drunkenly. "For those that choose to be reborn as a human, there's a chance they can come back for the rings they had in the past life." She giggled a bit to herself, the sound being somewhat disorienting coming from a woman with more muscles than Tsuna had bones. "The last guy that came in because he heard something calling was a bit surprised to find himself in possession of a ring full of butterflies."

Before she could continue down her drunken tangent, Reborn pulled her back. "What's this have to do with the Black Flame?"

"What's the Black Flame, Reborn?" Tsuna asked.

"It's one of the identifying markers of the enemy. I finally got Iemitsu to fill me in, although he wasn't happy about it. It seems they're a cult of some kind that goes back centuries. They claim to be led by the 'Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse'. Reports don't take it seriously, but they do say there are never more than four leaders who always bear a Black Flame as their trademark."

Tsuna looked at him blankly, "H-Horsemen?" Tsuna reached for one of the half-empty bottles beside him. Everything was starting to make horrifying sense. Mukuro's words, the enemy's words, his dreams, the blank ring that wasn't blank. Reborn looked at him curiously as he took another long pull the bottle of whiskey and laid the back of his head against the wall.

He looked at Reborn with a dead look in his eyes. "What's their motive?"

"World destruction," came the predictable answer. Tsuna had expected it. "The mafia is pulling the strings on a lot of the world. Taking them down first seems to be their plan of attack."

He looked past his tutor to where Patchwork was sitting with a drunken grin on her face. "How?" He knew that Patchwork would understand what he was asking. Not 'how could they do that' but the real question he was thinking 'how did I go from being a Black Flame to what I am now'.

The smile left her face as she understood. Ignoring the confused look on Gokudera and the curious one on Reborn's, she answered. "Several generations back, one of my ancestors was approached by a Black Flame. He claimed his ring had the power to pass his memories between cycles. The man had called it an 'anchor'. He asked my ancestor to seal it for him. The Black Flame claimed he no longer had the desire to destroy what he called the 'Path of Humans' and therefore didn't need it anymore. My ancestor didn't really believe him, but agreed to seal the ring. He locked away the power of the Flame inside the ring and passed it down through the generations for safe-keeping." She pointed to the box Tsuna was holding. "That ring."

"W-why didn't he just destroy it altogether?" Tsuna asked quietly, finishing off his bottle.

Reborn was the one that answered this time. "The Black Flame is known as the corrupter of flame. Destroying a Demitirus ring means releasing the flame inside and taking it back into yourself. For a flame that can corrupt other flames, it would mean instant death for whoever tried." Patchwork nodded and handed Tsuna another bottle as she finished her own. His inner flame was eating through the alcohol before he could truly get drunk, but the light buzz he was getting by continuously drinking helped keep him from having a breakdown. He could sense that he was on the brink and only the calmness from the whiskey was keeping him from completely going over.

He sat there in silence, going over everything he'd learned. He came to one conclusion. "I was a very, very bad person in my past life," he took another large drink and let it's fake warmth wash over him. He wasn't talking to anyone in particular, but he felt he needed to say it out loud to get it all off his chest and put it into some type of order in his mind. "I was a Black Flame. One of the Four Horsemen that wanted to destroy the world." Gokudera's eyebrows flew up into his hair as Reborn's face turned dark. "One of the four people that came back to the 'Path of Humans' time and time again with the simple desire to destroy it. To end what Mukuro called the ugliest and most dangerous world."

Tears began pouring down his face as he drank down half his bottle in one gulp. Panting, he continued after wiping his mouth. "During one of my past cycles, I chose to stop. I sealed my memories in this ring and gave myself a new start. Just like any normal person, I was allowed to be reborn with a fresh slate. But by coming back into contact with the Black Flames in this lifetime, the ring is starting to wake up. It wants to be free. It wants me to take it back and kill people and destroy the..." His voice was becoming panicked as he began clutching the box tighter, horrified at the idea. Before he could get far though, a hand on his shoulder stopped his ramblings.

Looking up, he saw Gokudera's sad face. "It's okay, 10th. You might have done that in a past life, but the 10th I know isn't someone who would try to destroy the world. A damn ring can't make you something you don't want to do."

Sense came back to Tsuna's eyes. Gokudera was right. "Plus," Reborn said, resisting the urge to kick some sense into his student. "Who knows how many lifetimes you've lived since then? The you who stands here now isn't the same one that was a Black Flame. You are the Sky now. Never forget that."

Tsuna nodded, relaxing at their words. They were both right. He could determine his own path in this life. "We've got to stop them," he said, looking back at them with determination in his eyes. "Not because I was once one of them, but because I can't let them hurt my Family."

"There's more that you should know," Patchwork interrupted. Everyone turned to look at her. "The Four Horsemen have never been gathered all at the same time. On his deathbed, the Black Flame my ancestor sealed had passed on one warning. He said that only when the Four Horsemen were gathered in the same cycle could the true power of the Black Rings be released. My ancestor never understood what he meant, but after doing some research he learned that there were never more than three Black Flames alive at the same time."

"That's bad," Reborn muttered. Tsuna and the others looked at him questioningly. Into the silence, he said, "Iemitsu puts the count of the current leadership of our enemies at three."

Tsuna blanched. "Three and...me," he said. "Even if I have the Sky Flame...I have the ring now." He turned to Patchwork, "You're positive he said when the 'Four Horsemen' and not the 'Four Black Flames' right?" Patchwork nodded, the effects of the alcohol blunting her coordination, but not her mind. "Then it's possible that the rings could still be used...since the ring recognized me. They could try to force me to release it and..." He didn't want to finish the sentence.

"Then why are they trying to kill you, 10th?" Gokudera asked.

Tsuna couldn't answer.


	20. Chapter 20 Dream

Tsuna laid back on the plush leather sofa, trying to think of his next step. He was in his resting room at Black Glove Mountain. Sakura and Reborn had both wanted him to go back to the hospital after they'd left Patchwork snoozing on her worktable, but he had stubbornly refused. Considering how quickly the enemy had confronted him after leaving the hospital, he'd probably known Tsuna's location for a while. 

He looked at the black lacquer box sitting on the coffee table. Knowing how dangerous an item it was, he hadn't wanted to leave it. He also didn't want to touch it. The ring had been silent as long as it stayed in his care, but Tsuna got a nasty feeling every time he opened the box. It was as if the ring was emitting an invisible slime that kept trying to latch onto him. The feeling made him sick and nauseous.

Picking up the files that Reborn lent him, he looked over them one more time. It was all the known information about the cult's current leadership. How he'd gotten it, Tsuna wasn't sure.

_Name: Renrick /Age: Mid-twenties /Weapon: Acid pellets /Biography: Unknown_

_Name: Ari /Age: Late-Teens /Weapon: Unknown /Biography: Daughter of former Derringer Boss. Derringer Family was the first mafia Family to be targeted by the Horsemen. Assumed connection. Family is currently listed as non-allied to Vongola. Records are pending verification of current Family status. Top of her class at Grenadier High School. Known by her former classmates as quick tempered and hard to approach. Current whereabouts unknown._

_Name: Juliet /Age: Early-twenties /Weapon: Unknown /Biography: Unknown_

Tsuna groaned. The information listed wasn't really much help, but at least he had their pictures and names. He tossed down the file and laid back again, putting his feet up and resting his head on the arm of the couch. He'd made contact with Renrick, but had let the man get away. Not that he had much choice. Vongola scientists had finished analyzing the acid. While the acid itself was nothing special, the pellet casings they'd recovered had proved to be troublesome. The inner part of the casings were acid-proof, but the outer casing was made from the same material as his gloves. His flame shield would have been useless. He shuddered when he thought what could have happened had one of the pellets impacted him and broke open.

He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate, ignoring the headache forming on the edge of his mind. The enemies were all probably currently in Japan since he was the latest target. But where were they hiding? The Vongola surveillance team hadn't been able to track them down at all. Worse, several of the Vongola men on the manhunt had turned up missing. He had to do something fast, but Tsuna didn't know what.

His head started pounding as he continued to try and think of something. Salmon swam through the air, resting himself on Tsuna's chest. Petting him, Tsuna tried to think harder. There had to be something, anything he could do other than wait for the search squads to report back in. Reborn had forbade him from joining one of the squads, citing a Boss' responsibility. Not even Tsuna's determination had broken through that. Considering how mad Reborn had been at him over leaving the hospital, Tsuna had given in.

The feeling of someone rubbing his temples startled him, but he didn't move as the massage helped ease the migraine that had formed. "Thank you," he said with his eyes still shut. The pounding in his head quietly went back to manageable proportions and he let the magic fingers continue to soothe him. At some point, he relaxed too much and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The sound of screams filled his head. The screams of innocent people begging for someone to save them. Orange flames flickered at the edge of his vision, trying to keep him from seeing the horrors that lay beyond, but were being pushed back by another flame. A darker flame.

He was a passenger in his own body. Tsuna couldn't control it, he could only watch as the nightmare continued. He could hear himself yelling something while he walked down a narrow road, but he couldn't make out the words. All around him, buildings were burning and people were running for their lives.

He lifted up his hand and saw a black ring on it. He yelled something else and the ring reacted. However, instead of Salmon's bright orange flame flaring up, a sickening black flame began to drip to the ground. Tsuna's stomach clenched as his other self laughed maniacally and the screams around him continued. The flame began to grow and harden. Before him stood a horse made from the black flame, it's very essence that of evil. He wanted to get away from it. As far away as he could. But his body wasn't his own. He walked forward, petting the grotesque flame creature. His hand felt like it was covered in slime, but his other self didn't seem to notice.

Tsuna's stomach clenched as he mounted. The horse began to run forward and his other self gave out a cry of glee. Tsuna was grateful as the orange flame on the edges of his vision started to take over again. But not fast enough. His other self raised his hand as he stopped in front of a man who was trying to protect his wife from some armed attackers. His other self laughed as he emitted his sick black flame, striking the man in the chest. His other self continued to laugh as the man got up and turned on his wife.

Tsuna wanted to puke. His stomach clenched and if he had control of his body, he was sure he'd be crying. But he didn't, he could only watch as blood soaked into the ground and his other self laughed. His vision was finally completely encompassed with orange flames as Tsuna screamed. The screams of the innocent continued to sound, filling his ears with their fear and pain. His own voice was lost in the tumult.

* * *

"Tsuna!" Sakura yelled, slapping him again. "Damnit, wake up!"

Tsuna's eyes flew open. He could feel tears in his eyes from where he'd cried in his sleep. Without a pause to think, he pushed Sakura aside as his stomach heaved from what he'd just witnessed. He covered his mouth as he ran for the bathroom. Barely, he made it as his stomach emptied itself into the toilet.

"So that's why they're called Horsemen," he muttered to himself as he began trembling. He hugged his arms as he knelt on the bathroom floor, feeling incredibly chilled by the horror of his dream. So much fear and pain and suffering. So much blood. Behind him, he felt Sakura's silent presence. Without saying anything, the doctor helped him back into the main room and put a cover over his shoulders. Tsuna just sat on the couch and continued to shake, unable to get the vision of blood out of his mind.

At some point, the doctor left and Yamamoto came in. Sitting down next to him, he quietly asked, "Sakura said you had another nightmare?" Tsuna nodded as his began shaking harder. His face was pale and there was a cold sweat on his brow, but Yamamoto didn't seem to notice. He wrapped his arms around Tsuna, giving comfort not as a lover, but as a brother.

Ever so slowly, Tsuna began to weep in Yamamoto's arms. He couldn't hold back the tears anymore as he thought about all the pain and suffering his other self had caused. The swordsman just quietly held him, trying to give him solace. They sat that way until Tsuna ran out of tears and his shaking finally stopped. Neither knew how many minutes passed, but slowly Tsuna got control of himself. The rain of tears had helped ease the heartache caused by the nightmare.

He pulled away, wiping his face with the cover around his shoulders. "Thank you, Yamamoto," he said weakly.

"It's my job," the other joked half-heartedly. Yamamoto hurt to see Tsuna like this, but there was nothing he could do to stop a dream. The only thing he could do for Tsuna was to be a comforting shoulder to cry on afterward. "I'm here anytime you need me. Aren't we like brothers? Brothers should be able to cry together."

Tsuna looked up at his friend...his brother. He'd never had a brother to lean on before since he was an only child. Warmth began to flow back into his limbs as he smiled weakly. "Yes," he answered with a sniff. "You're right. We're Family aren't we?" The last question he asked was aimed at himself but Yamamoto answered it anyways.

"Yup," he said with a large thumbs up and a smile, returning to his baseball jock facade.

Tsuna could only smile in return, feeling relieved to have someone else's strength to lean on.


	21. Chapter 21 Black Kiss

Tsuna packed up his bags, in a hurry to leave the building. For the past three days he'd been forced to come to school and take the end of year tests. Even the Dean couldn't make allowances for him since he'd already left the hospital. Beside him, he heard Gokudera let out a growl. 

"Making the 10th do dumb ass tests when his life is in danger," he grumbled quietly. Dr. Shamal had taken over watch of Haru so that the boys could all fulfill their responsibilities as students.

Tsuna smiled. It almost felt good to be back in school, he thought. "It's my own fault," Tsuna said, wanting to get back to the Dojo as fast as possible. "I forced them to let me out of the hospital." He paused as Kyoko and Hana walked up to him.

Other than his Guardians, the two girls were the only ones that weren't trying to stay away from him. Between the fight with Hibari, the scene with the 9th and him being shot on the roof, most of the school had decided it was better to be as far away from him as possible. He was grateful for their distance, though. He, more than anyone, didn't want his classmates hurt because of his presence. Hence his desire to get back to the Dojo.

Yet he still paused for the two girls. He hadn't been able to set things straight with Kyoko, but she seemed oblivious to the fact. Maybe it was karma paying him back for being shot. He didn't know, but he was grateful. She had returned to being the bright sun in his life, the confusion of his confession and subsequent betrayal forgotten.

"How's your back, Tsuna?" She asked. They hadn't allowed her to see him after he'd woken. At first, it was his friend's idea upon seeing his depression. Then, as his father and Reborn had delved into the Horseman matter, they'd restricted all his visitors to an absolute minimum.

"Oh, um, eh, it's fine," he answered as they walked out of the room. Gokudera and Yamamoto followed closely behind, hovering within a protective range. Kyoko seemed oblivious to the parting crowd as they went down the hall. "It's all healed up and the doctors released me," he lied. It seemed so much easier to lie to her lately, he noticed. Maybe it was his desire to protect her or his own fear of her reaction to the truth. Either way, it kept the smile on her face.

"Are you going back to the Dojo again?" She asked as they crossed the courtyard, Ryohei jogging to catch up. He nodded. It was the only place he could think without interference. When he'd tried going back to his house, Lambo and the others had pounced on him without mercy. He knew they missed him, but times were too dangerous to allow distractions.

They turned the corner outside the school, heading for the Entertainment District. Coming the opposite direction, they saw Haru approach. Tsuna was relieved to see she was fine. Another day gotten through safely, he thought. She walked up to him, ignoring the presence of Gokudera and the others. He found himself blushing when he noticed she wasn't slowing. She was walking straight for him with a determined look in her eyes.

He panicked as she ignored Kyoko and grabbed the sides of his head, pulling him into a kiss fully on the mouth. Everyone's eyes flew up as the kiss continued and Tsuna flailed his arms in surprise.

Then he felt it, as her tongue parted his lips. He felt how cold and passionless the kiss was. Even as he noticed, he felt something far worse. A black flame entering his mouth, trying to corrupt and eat his inner flame. Falling back on instinct, he flared his inner flame until it burst out on his head. Everyone continued to stand around, oblivious to the fact that this wasn't Haru kissing him. They all had surprised and confused looks on their faces as the Dying Will Flame surfaced, unable to see the war of flames hidden by their lips.

He tried to push the girl back and found that she had his head in a vise. She wasn't going to let go until her flame did it's work. He could feel it inside him, getting stronger as it ate the edges of his flame. He pushed his own flame out to meet it in response, grabbing her throat as the fear covered his face. Gokudera and the others had finally noticed something was wrong and were trying to pull the girl away, but she wasn't letting go.

Tsuna could feel his flame and hers fighting for dominance in his mouth. They were at a standstill, her flame unable to corrupt his core and his barely able to keep it from taking over. An instant of inspiration saved him. He used the one and only technique he knew could seal flames.

She screamed in rage and pain as she let him go, her lips blue from the ice he'd created. Tsuna fell to his knees, gagging on the nasty feeling of her flames that lingered in his mouth. It was worse than the one time Gokudera had accidentally used his abandoned soda can as an ashtray and he'd drank it. It was worse than the time Reborn had made him swim through sewer water to save a kitten. It was worse than anything he could imagine.

Spitting, he looked up to where his Family had roughly restrained the Haru look alike. But now that he knew what to look for, he could see through her disguise. He wiped his mouth and said, "That's a pretty strong illusion, Juliet." As he said the name, Gokudera squeezed her arms tighter.

She began laughing, oblivious to her restraints. "I couldn't let Renrick have all the fun. You've learned to kiss better," she said, small flakes of ice falling from her mouth as her flame corrupted it and broke it away. Tsuna looked at the flakes, realizing how lucky he'd been by surprising her. The Zero Point Breakthrough didn't produce true ice, after all. It made a negative flame. Something that the Black Flame could eat through and corrupt just like it had tried to with his inner flame.

Juliet seemed to be waiting on something. Her cocky smile made Tsuna's skin crawl. Ignoring it, he got up and went over to her. Before she could realize his intentions, he grabbed her hand and removed her black ring. She finally started fighting, fear crossing her face as she dropped her illusion of Haru. "Give that back!" She screamed in rage while Gokudera held her in place. Tsuna could sense as she began to leak out her black flame in rage.

Without hesitation, he sealed her in ice as Gokudera jumped back. The struggle had caught the attention of a crowd, but Tsuna didn't have the time or the disposition to worry about them. If he let her leak out that corrupt flame anymore, not only his own life, but the lives of everyone around them would be in danger. She let out a final scream as the ice covered her head. The crowd disappeared in fear, not wanting to be the next one Tsuna targeted.

Tsuna stumbled a bit from exhaustion and Ryohei caught him. As Ryohei held him up, he turned to the others. "This won't hold her for long...her flame will eat through it pretty quickly." Gokudera nodded and pulled out his cell phone to call for reinforcements. Before he'd said more than three words, Reborn appeared.

"Don't bother," he said. As Tsuna and the others looked at him in confusion, Leon transformed in his hand.

"W-Wait," Tsuna said in shock, looking at Leon's form. "You can't--"

A loud boom sounded as Reborn fired, a bullet piercing through the ice and Juliet's heart in an instant. Blood flowed through the hole in the ice as Tsuna fell to his knees. Beneath her frozen prison, Juliet's eyes glazed with death and he watched as her flame disappeared.

Everyone was silent with shock. Time seemed to stop. No one moved. No one could react. Finally, someone did. Tsuna's heart clenched as he heard Kyoko quietly weeping.

"W-why?" He asked Reborn simply, trying to fight the tears in his own eyes.

"Orders," Reborn replied, understanding his student's pain. He hadn't wanted to do it in front of the boy, but Reborn could already tell that the ice wouldn't hold more than a minute. Fractures had already appeared beneath the surface and it was either follow the orders or watch his student be killed when the woman got free and used her Black Flame's full potential. Reborn had made his choice and he wouldn't regret it. "The Vendiche would have done it anyway. She's too dangerous to try and imprison. Orders have been passed throughout the Families. Anyone recognized as having a black flame is to be terminated on sight."

"H-how could you..." Tsuna said, still shocked by the death he'd just witnessed. Worse than that, Tsuna could be partially put to blame for her death since it was his ice that held her in place.

"I'm a hitman, Baka-Tsuna," Reborn wanted to grit his teeth on the words. Hitman or not, he didn't like killing. "Killing is part of the job. You'd have to get used to it eventually since you're going to take the 9th's place."

Tsuna could sense the lie. He could tell that Reborn was putting on a brave front. He knew the truth. Even Reborn had never gotten used to killing, but he did it when need forced him to. When it was the only way to protect those that he had sworn to protect. Tsuna nodded blankly, accepting the truth instead of the lie. His heart clenched again as true realization of what he'd just accepted hit him.

The knowledge kept him on his knees even as the backup squad of black suits rushed past him to clean up the body. The knowledge kept him from getting up instead of Ryohei to calm Kyoko and take her home. The knowledge kept him from even responding when Gokudera and Yamamoto hovered over him worriedly.

He'd just accepted that death was sometimes necessary to protect his Family.

Tsuna put his face in his hands and wept.


	22. Chapter 22 Walk

Tsuna laid in his bed at Black Glove Mountain, unwilling to go home for the night. His family had left him there after ensuring that he'd be okay. Reborn was quietly sleeping on the couch, while Leon kept watch for intruders. His family had been affected as deeply as he, although they'd put him first. They had been too quiet when they'd departed, each lost in their own thoughts and emotions. It wasn't every day that a person saw death so closely in all it's sudden and unadulterated horror. 

Rubbing his head, he ignored the throb of another headache. It seemed that he was getting those more and more often as time went on. It didn't help that the presence of two black-laced Demitirus rings sat across the room. The ugly presence of both so near to him made him want to vomit. But there was nothing he could do.

Or was there? His heart started pounding as a sudden inspiration came to him. Quietly, so not as to wake Reborn, he whispered for Salmon to come out. He knew his tutor would want to stop him, but he had to do it. He quickly created a Delving Flame on his finger and sent Salmon the knowledge of what he wanted to do.

He wanted to take a mental walk. Not down memory lane, but to that place where he'd first gotten a clue to what was really going on. He had a feeling if he just went to talk to Mukuro in person, or in illusion he amended, the man wouldn't be as forthcoming. But there...in that place, he might. He had to try. But to get there, and be able to return afterward, he needed Salmon's help as an anchor.

Salmon swam in a circle, showing his agreement and willingness to help. Tsuna closed his eyes and gave a mental twist as the little eel dove for his forehead. This time, Tsuna didn't just turn down his inner flame. He gave the harshest of mental twists he could, pushing it farther and farther below even a drip. Finally, he succeeded, completely and totally, he extinguished his inner flame.

His heart stopped only for a few moments before Salmon hit his forehead and re-ignited his flame, shocking his body into functioning again. But that moment was all Tsuna needed to open the path to where he wanted to go. To that place between cycles. He leaped down the path in that moment of death, leaving his body in Salmon's care.

* * *

He was standing on a lakeside, the horizon-less sky stretched out above him. Tsuna took a few moments to get used to the feel of his body. Unlike last time, he had his full memory of how he got here and why. The sound of footsteps behind him made him turn, fully expecting to see Mukuro.

It wasn't Mukuro.

Tears began to well up in his eyes so suddenly he didn't know what to do. "Juliet, I--" he began to say, remembering everything that had happened today. The woman stood before him, a look of reproach in her eyes. There were no wounds on her body, but he could tell she was hurt.

"Ba-ka," she said, stretching out the word. "It's just another death. I'll be back in no time at all. But you could have done it in some other way...death while covered in ice huuuurts." She rubbed her arms, trying to chase away a nonexistent chill.

Tsuna stopped in his tracks at her words. Not at how carelessly she said them, but what they implied. Death truly meant nothing to her. He could kill her continuously and she'd still return. The realization brought new horror to his heart. Not because the idea that his enemy would return to haunt him, but the realization that she remembered dying so many times that it didn't bother her anymore.

"Why?" he asked.

"You ask why? Why not? Someone has to put an end to it all. The only way to destroy the 'Path of Humans' is to eradicate every single one of them. You should know that." She glanced up and seemed to notice something. Her eyes narrowed. "Unless you really did do it like Renrick said. You got a new anchor?"

Tsuna nodded. For once, the conversation was making sense to him. She continued wearily, "Well, I can't kill you here, so I guess we'll continue that part in the next cycle if you actually survive."

"Why do you want to kill me?"

"You're human. Part of the damned cycle." She answered coldly, sitting at the edge of the lake. "If you're not one of us, you're the enemy. That simple. Although, you kind of pulled a fast one on us. We thought you'd be useless because you have a sky flame now. Ari was quite happy when she found out your ring still recognized you." Tsuna looked at her questioningly. She laughed, "Don't give me that look. If the ring still works, she won't care what color your flame is. You can still come back to us. We could have finally done it in the last cycle, but you had to go and get all stupid on us."

"Done what?" He asked as he sat down beside her. Like last time he had come to this place, a feeling of nostalgia washed over him. Here, in this world, the bonds between people were different. They weren't influenced by a single cycle of life, but by the accumulation of them. And Tsuna had a feeling that the two of them had a bond going back forever. His actions in a single cycle wouldn't affect her, she'd just continue to have faith in him and patiently wait for him to give in to her coaxing. If not in this cycle, then in the next.

The thought made him go cold.

Who knows how he'd turn out in the next cycle? He could live another life in happy contentment or end up scarred and angry like Xanxus. It was horrifyingly possible that somewhere down the line he would live a life that would want him to give in.

She seemed oblivious to his inner turmoil as she answered, "Release the power of the rings." She looked at his blank face and snapped her fingers. "That's right, your memory isn't there anymore. I'll tell you what, join back up with us and I'll tell you what we can do with the four rings if all of us are together."

His mind instantly rebelled at the idea. Tsuna's reaction must have been obvious, because she shrugged and looked back out over the lake. After a while of just sitting silently, she stood up and dusted off her pants. "Well, I guess I better get back. I hope I get a decent family this time. The last one was full of drug addicts and pimps." Her eyes twinkled as a look of shock crossed his face. "There you go again with that look. I might be able to retrieve my memories on the other side, but I still rather grow up in comfort." Before he could say anything, she took a running start and dove into the lake.

The water barely rippled as Tsuna watched in dismay. He barely remembered what had happened when his feet had been in the water. His memories had dulled to the point of nonexistence and he'd been overcome by contentment. The lake was the path of rebirth, it seemed. Feeling the sudden urge to return to his body, Tsuna closed his eyes and looked for his anchor. The moment he saw it, he latched on, accepting the pain and darkness as he went back down the path of death to where Salmon waited.


	23. Chapter 23 Infection

Reborn had been awake for nearly an hour now, trying to think of a fitting punishment for his student. What was he thinking? Not only his disregard for his own personal safety, but his continued recklessness. Reborn had noticed symptoms like these in his past students. Once they began to trust in their own abilities, they tended to go down the path of 'do it then ask forgiveness'. He had tried to pull back and get the boy to trust him. First, by not interfering in anything unless he absolutely had to. Second, by treating the boy like a boss, giving him both backing and information. But it seemed as if this student was either incredibly naive or incredibly dense. Or both. 

He brandished Leon in club form, waiting for Tsuna to wake up.

His anger was short-lived, however. Tsuna's eyes fluttered open as Salmon swam into view. Relief overcame anger as the boy sat up rubbing his eyes. Then the boy looked at the fully awake Reborn with a sheepish grin on his face and the anger flooded back in.

"Have a nice nap, Baka-Tsuna?" He asked as the club smacked Tsuna across the face. Reborn made sure not to hit him hard enough to knock him back out. He wanted answers after all. Tsuna went flying, landing with a satisfying crash against the opposite wall. The sheepish grin was replaced by a look of pain as Tsuna held his head. Reborn wasn't worried, the boy had taken much worse hits during their training together.

"What did you do that for, Reborn!" He yelled, still rubbing the spot he'd been smacked.

"Waking up to a half-dead student isn't my idea of a good morning. You can't keep doing this," he scolded. "If you wanted to try something, at least let someone know."

"Forgive me," he asked as expected, his face reflecting his remorse.

"No," Reborn replied, finally fed up with him. "I won't forgive you this time. I shouldn't have forgiven you when you left the hospital. You're an idiot and I'm not going to let my student continue with this recklessness. First you're going to tell me what you were thinking, then I'm going to put you through such hellish training for the rest of the day that you'll never want to be reckless again. Then, when I'm satisfied, you are going to do it again to make sure that even the idea of doing something dangerous without backup never crosses your mind."

The blood drained out of Tsuna's face. By the time Reborn finished talking, he was dizzy. For his tutor to be this angry meant certain doom for him, he was sure.

"So, what were you thinking?"

"I needed to talk to Mukuro," he answered sheepishly.

"And...?"

"And he wasn't there. But..." Tsuna looked away, sadness in his eyes and body language. "But Juliet was there." Reborn tapped his foot in impatience. He wasn't about to stand here and prompt the boy for every little piece of information. "I found out why they were trying to kill me. It was the same reason they are trying to kill everyone else. Somehow they know about the ring though."

"That doesn't explain why they suddenly changed tactics," Reborn replied as he poured himself some coffee and sat on the couch. Tsuna joined him. "While their tactics were still based on surprise, this last attack was too straight-forward. What were their real motives?"

"I don't know," Tsuna said, thinking. "Juliet didn't seem to care that she'd died. I don't think that kind of thing matters to them since they can remember everything each time they're reborn."

"Still, for them to sacrifice one of their own..." Reborn murmured to himself trying to think. "What exactly happened between you two when she kissed you?" He finally asked.

Tsuna blushed, his automatic response kicking in. Then the memory of the kiss surfaced and his face turned pale and green. "It was gross. She used the kiss as a weapon to try and pass her flame into me. It was slimy and just...just gross." He shuddered, thinking how it had felt for her sick flame to touch his.

"Did it work?" Reborn asked.

"What do you mean? Her flame touched mine a few times and it felt like it was eating it or something, but I was able to push her out in the end. It never went in farther than the outer edges."

"Let me see your flame," Reborn ordered, as he seemed to think of something. Tsuna obeyed, allowing the Dying Will Flame to surface while Salmon swam circles around his head. Tsuna looked at his tutor in curiosity as the little guy cursed. Finally he said, "I'll punish you later, for now, don't let your flame get smaller."

Tsuna looked at him in question, but the hitman was already jumping off the couch and reaching for his cell phone. As he made a call, Tsuna went to the bathroom mirror. His heart almost stopped at what he saw. The flame on his head was brightly shining in it's purity, but every so often it would darken into a sickly orange. Juliet had done more than simply try and eat his flame with hers. She had tried to corrupt it.

"B-but I pushed her back..." Tsuna said to himself in shock. "I...I know I didn't let her near my flame's core..."

Reborn jumped up next to him and said, "The flu can be caught through a simple sneeze. Letting her get close to your flame was enough. Iemitsu's on his way, but until he gets here don't release your flame. Whatever is happening will take longer if it has a larger flame than a small one, I hope."

"Reborn..." He looked at his tutor with fear and worry etched into his soul.

"Don't worry, between your father and Sakura, I'm positive we can fix it." Reborn was lying through his teeth and he knew the boy knew it, but there was nothing else he could say.

* * *

Gokudera and Yamamoto were highly upset when they found out the next morning. Tsuna was sitting on the couch of his resting room, drinking coffee to warm him and keep him awake at the same time. He'd had his flame flowing at full for almost six hours now. His body was loosing it's ability to regulate his body temperature as he began to run out of energy.

Yamamoto threw a blanket over him while Gokudera made a stronger pot of coffee. They both hovered over him in worry as Sakura tried to find out what was affecting him. Every so often, Gokudera would go out and set off some dynamite to calm himself when he thought about how someone had hurt his boss. Yamamoto stayed calm and collected, however, for which Tsuna was grateful.

Sakura was talking out loud, trying to find an answer as he went through his collection of Vongola medical texts. "If we think of this like a flu, then a fever should burn it out. But burning something out of flame is impossible."

"Don't think of it like a sickness," Tsuna said, feeling like it was the right thing. "You just said it yourself, it's a flame. What would make a flame turn dark?"

Sakura put down his text. "Well, the color of a person's flame is based on the attributes of the wielder. So, if a person's flame begins to change color, it follows that there were changes made to the wielder and not the flame. You're saying something was done to you and not your flame?" Tsuna nodded as Sakura continued. Finally it felt like they were going down the right path. "But your flame and you are one and the same. You can't separate the two."

Tsuna looked at where Salmon was swimming around, curious about the texts Sakura was holding. "That's not true," he replied. "Salmon is made of my flame, but he's a totally separate entity. If me and my flame couldn't be separated, he couldn't exist. Plus, I know I had a Black Flame in a past life, but in this life I have a Sky Flame. That means that 'me' and my flame are two totally different things. They affect one another, but aren't the same thing."

Sakura rubbed his head, thinking. "So, we need to narrow down what's affecting you which would in-turn tell us what's affecting your flame." Tsuna nodded. "Arg! That doesn't help us at all!" Tsuna gave a faltering smile and sipped his coffee. He was shivering, but he couldn't give up.

He nearly fell over in relief as his father rushed in the door. "Dad--" he began to say as his father stared at the flame on his head. Seeing the look of distress on his face, Tsuna went to the bathroom to look. It had gotten worse. It was now a constant sickly orange and streaks of black had started to show. Tsuna's face went pale and a wave of dizziness hit. He collapsed onto the floor, his energy completely drained by the overuse of his flame.

"How long?" His father asked Reborn as he picked his son up and carried him to the bed. Tucking him under a pile of blankets to warm him, he listened for Reborn's answer.

"He's had it running for almost six...no seven hours now." Iemitsu clenched his teeth. Even the 9th could only hold the Dying Will Flame constantly for ten hours. They didn't have much time before either Tsuna passed out or Tsuna's flame was completely corrupted. No one wanted to find out what would happen after that. Sakura filled him in quickly on what they knew so far.

"Have you tried extinguishing it completely and having someone revive you? Maybe that will clear the infection."

Tsuna wanted to laugh. "You might say that," he replied with a sheepish grin at Reborn. "I don't think it's something affecting the flame though, I think it's something affecting me."

"Maybe..." Sakura began then stopped, his texts laid out across the floor and his table. "Maybe it wasn't something caused by Juliet. It could be something that's been affecting him for a while now and the process was sped up because of her interference."

"Like what?" Tsuna asked. It was a shred of hope. Then Sakura pointed at the black lacquer ring box sitting on the coffee table. His face fell, but he knew it was possible...no likely. "You think the ring is affecting me?" He said. Sakura nodded.

"Then...then the only way to fix this is to destroy the rings, but we can't..." He knew what would happen to the person that tried to destroy them. The flame would turn back and devour that person.

"Actually, we can...I think." Sakura's face was beaming. "The main thing is to get it far enough away from you that not only can you not hear the call, but the affects of the flames sealed in the ring is leashed."

"How?!" Everyone yelled as Sakura went silent, lost in his own little world.

"Oh, that. We just freeze it to silence it for a while, then throw it into the deepest part of the ocean. Water pressure can destroy it without anyone having to unleash the flame personally. And even if the metal withstands the pressure, if you pick a deep enough trench, no one will be able to reach it."

Everyone looked at Sakura like he was an idiot.

Then they thought over it again.

"I-It just might work..." his father said.

Reborn nodded. "Lets start with just getting them out of the area first and see if that helps." He went over and picked up the box.

Tsuna reacted suddenly and violently. Before anyone could move, he was already out of bed and had snatched the box back, pushing Sakura and his father out of his way without mercy. He fell back to his knees in weakness, clutching the box to his chest. "It hurts..." he moaned. "It starts screaming and it _hurts_."

"It's not going to be that easy, is it?" Reborn said.

Sakura and Iemitsu looked at him, their faces showing their distress. Gokudera helped Tsuna back into the bed, box still in his hands. Tsuna was sweating and panting from the effort.

"I could drug him," Sakura suggested. "If we move quickly, you could have the rings out of range before the corruption completely takes over."

"We have to try it," Tsuna panted from his bed. "I can't hold the flame much longer anyway."

"Then--" Sakura said, going for his medical bag. Tsuna stopped him.

"Wait. There's something I want you to do first." Everyone looked at him, obviously not caring for anything but his wellbeing. "I want you to take Juliet's ring to Patchwork and have her seal it. If the ring can't be destroyed, we have to at least stop the cycle of hate that she's in. Before the ring can connect with her...she's already went down the path to being reborn...we have to stop it now before it's too late."

"10th..."  
"Tsuna..." Yamamoto and Gokudera wanted to cry. Even in this condition, Tsuna was still thinking about others before himself. He truly was a selfless being. Too selfless.

"Please," he begged, as his eyes started to loose focus.

"Alright!" His father yelled. "Let's get on with it before it gets any worse."

Sakura moved. Unsure of what Tsuna's reaction would be, he darted in and injected him before the boy knew what hit him. The reaction to the ring box simply being picked up had been harsh enough. Since he had the knowledge that the rings were going to be destroyed, he wanted the poor boy unconscious before the rings tried to make Tsuna protect them.

Tsuna stiffened in surprise as the needle hit his neck, but quickly relaxed as the drugs took effect. Slowly, his eyes closed as the Flame on his head went out. "We're on the clock people," Sakura yelled, tossing the box into Iemitsu's hands.

"Get it sealed and get it out of the country. We'll call you if it helps."

Iemitsu nodded and took off at a run.

Even through the drugs, Tsuna was trying to react to the screams of the ring. His body began to shake and tremble as his muscles tried to function but were unable due to the effects of the medication. His eyebrows were drawn together in pain and his eyes were clenched tight. Sakura reached into his bag and brought out another dose.

Yamamoto covered his mouth with his hands in worry as the syringe was emptied. He wanted to say something, but he didn't know what. Gokudera looked just as worried. They both sighed in relief, though, as Tsuna's trembling stopped and the look on his face eased.

Sakura sighed as well. "That should hold him for a few hours. Whether or not his flame is okay when he wakes..." He didn't want to finish that sentence.


	24. Chapter 24 Change

Several hours had passed while Tsuna's Family watched over him anxiously. He had started to shake again, but had stopped before Sakura had felt the need to act. Salmon had been hovering over by Leon for the past two hours, seemingly passing information back and forth silently. Reborn walked up to them. 

"Oi, you two seem pretty calm." Leon's head bounced in agreement and turned back to Salmon. The little eel was sending off sparks in agitation, but otherwise seemed fine. Finally something seemed to pass between the two creatures and Salmon spun in a little circle of agreement. The eel stopped in front of Reborn, trying to tell him something. Reborn could only shrug. Tsuna was the only one that could understand what the eel was thinking most of the time.

Salmon shook himself a bit, irritated that he couldn't get his message across. Then it stopped as it seemed to think of something. It swung it's tail around and Reborn was surprised as a Delving Flame flickered into life on the tip. The eel waited for Reborn's permission before touching it to his head.

After a few moments, Reborn finally understood what the eel wanted to do. He wanted to gather up happy memories from Tsuna's Family.

"I don't know if it'll help," Reborn said as the rest of the group watched curiously. "But if you think it will help clear up the infection in Tsuna's flame, it can't hurt." The little eel made another happy circle as he touched Reborn's mind again, gathering fond thoughts and memories he had of the boy. When it was done, he turned to Gokudera and Yamamoto, silently asking for permission.

The two looked at the eel. "If you think it'll help Tsuna, go for it," Yamamoto said.

"Think of all the happy and good times you've had with Tsuna," Reborn ordered as the eel touched his head. After a moment, the creature was done. It repeated the process for Sakura and Gokudera.

It seemed to give a sigh as it finished. There wasn't enough to clear the darkness, the eel was sure. He had to find more if he was going to save his partner. It turned back to Reborn, silently asking for help.

"Alright, I'll take you to see the rest of the Family," he said. After explaining to the others, the two left, leaving Tsuna in Sakura, Gokudera, and Yamamoto's care.

* * *

Two more hours passed in silence as the effects of the medication wore off Tsuna. The boy had started quietly laughing in his sleep, the sound at odds with the pained look on his face.

"He's dreaming again," Sakura said. "But, it's strange. Lately he's had nothing but nightmares. Why's he laughing?"

A loud crash came from outside, interrupting any answer he might have gotten. Gokudera flew out the door to investigate, Yamamoto behind him. They both watched in shock as the wall separating the Dojo from the public areas began to melt away.

"Rendrick..." Yamamoto muttered as he recognized the pattern of acid burning through the wall. He suspicion was confirmed as enough of the wall melted to reveal the attacker beyond. People were screaming in fear and running away behind him, thankfully ignored and unharmed.

"Where is he?" Rendrick asked dangerously.

"Like I'm going to tell you, freak!" Gokudera yelled, making ready several rocket-bombs.

The other man simply looked around arrogantly at the training equipment in the room. He seemed disappointed when he didn't see Tsuna. Then he noticed the door to the resting room and began to walk forward. Three bombs exploded near his head, but he ignored them. His task had been set by Ari. He wasn't going to disobey.

"Ari wants to see him," he said, continuing to walk forward. A bomb exploded against his chest, knocking him backward. He grunted, ignoring the pain as he stood back up. "If you're going to get in my way, I'll just have to destroy you." He began spitting acid pellets as Gokudera and Yamamoto dodged.

Yamamoto ran for his equipment bag. He knew he still had some Micro-Hammers stashed away; his sword would be useless against acid. He snatched up his bag while Gokudera continued to throw stick after stick of dynamite. The man continued to be unphased by the attacks, spitting pellet continuously at his target.

A crash from the side caused everyone to pause. Tsuna was standing in the doorway of his resting room, Sakura hanging by his collar in his hand. The doctor had a large red mark on his temple where he'd been knocked unconscious.

"10th--" Gokudera started to say, but the cold look in Tsuna's eyes stopped him. This wasn't the Tsuna they knew and loved. The aura coming from him was cold and dark, nothing like his normal cheerful one.

"What's all the racket," he asked lazily, dropping Sakura to the floor.

"An unwelcome guest," Yamamoto answered, trying to figure out what was wrong with Tsuna.

Tsuna looked up at Rendrick and began to carelessly walk forward. He stopped within inches of the man, ignoring the threat of the enemy's weapon. Rendrick smiled, causing dismay to sweep through Yamamoto and Gokudera.

"Ari wants to see you," Rendrick said.

"Does she?" Tsuna replied arrogantly. Gokudera held a fresh stick of dynamite in his hand, ready and waiting to protect his boss, regardless of how he'd changed. Yamamoto could only watch in shock as Tsuna's personality seemed to get darker and colder. "And where is she?"

"Not far," Rendrick replied. "Warehouse Forty-Three."

"I see," Tsuna said. Before anyone could move or react, Tsuna's hand flew up and grabbed the man by the neck. Raising him up into the air he continued lazily, "I'll go say hello, then. But first, you need to be punished for what you did to what's mine."

A look of panic crossed the man's face as a flame burst out on Tsuna's head. Then the panic on his face was replaced by near glee. Horror and dismay became etched on Yamamoto's and Gokudera's. Tsuna's flame was completely black. Not even a flicker of his beautiful orange could be seen. Tsuna's eyes gleamed as he smiled.

Before anyone could react to Tsuna's cold, dark smile, the man screamed as the flames burst from Tsuna's hands. Gokudera and Yamamoto could only fall to their knees as the man was consumed, his flesh turning black as he was burned alive. By the time Tsuna was done, nothing but ash and acid pellets remained.

Dusting the ash from his hands, Tsuna turned to the others. Unsure of Tsuna, they stayed in place, unable to move. "I'll let you clean this up," he said carelessly. "It seems that Ari won't leave me alone until I go see her, but don't worry. I'll be back after a while." Leaving his shocked friends behind him, he walked out of the building.


	25. Chapter 25 Price

The warehouse was dark and damp. His footsteps echoed as he crossed the thresh hold. "Ar-i..." Tsuna called, wanting to get this over with so he could go back to sleep. He felt incredibly tired, although he couldn't say why. 

"I'm glad to see your beautiful flame has returned," a woman's voice sounded from the depths of the building. Tsuna leaned against one of the support pillars holding up the warehouse's roof, carelessly disregarding any threat that the woman could present. It was as if he feared nothing anymore. He felt like nothing could touch him, physically or mentally.

"I could care less," he replied. "A flame is a flame, it doesn't matter what color."

The woman came out of the shadows, finally revealing herself. Tsuna couldn't help but whistle appreciatively at her. She wore a tight corset top and tattered short skirt, utterly at odds with the silk ballroom gloves that covered her hands and arms. A thin metal belt hung from her waist, accentuating her appealing curves.

"So you're the Ari I've heard so much about," he said as she slowly walked closer.

"Indeed," she replied. "Although a flame is just a flame, I like you better with a black one. The one that seals your caring heart and lets you come to me cycle after cycle."

"And who said I was here for you?" Tsuna asked, flaring the flame from his glove playfully.

She pouted as she ran a gloved finger down his chest. "Don't you want to destroy it all, now that you've returned? Destroy everything so that there's no way for anyone to walk down the 'Path of Humans' anymore? We could do it, now that you have your flame back. It'll only take Rendrick and Juliet a few years before they're strong enough to use their rings again. We can continue doing the prep work together, just like old times."

"I think you misunderstand something, Ari." Tsuna smiled, walking across the warehouse to put some distance between them. "My flame might be dark, but I'm still me. Whatever made me want to destroy this world is the thoughts of another lifetime. I'm quite happy with what I have now."

"You--" she exclaimed, her face turning red with anger. "You didn't use your ring?!"

"Why should I? I have a new ring that's working just fine."

"But--but your memories!" She spluttered.

Tsuna waved her objections away. "Don't need them. That piece of crap should be halfway across the world now, on it's way to being destroyed."

"WHAT!" She screamed in rage, the Black Flame surging out on her head. Her eyes flashed as the flame reached down and consumed her gloves. "You didn't change," she said dangerously, "we had all hoped giving you your flame back would return you to us, but it's pointless. You're too deeply attached to this world. So..." She raised her hand, calling for the creature within her ring. As a black horse formed beside her, she continued, her rage having went from hot to cold as she spoke. "So the only thing left to do is to get you out of our way."

The horse began to run in circles around them, leaving behind a trail of dark flame. Faster than Tsuna could react, they were encircled by a whirlwind of heat and darkness. As Ari ran forward, using the flame in her Gloves for speed like Tsuna did, he replied, "So be it."

He charged, ready to end the life of his enemy so that he could return home and rest.

* * *

It took Yamamoto nearly a half hour to wake Sakura, during which time Gokudera had smoked half a pack of cigarettes. Neither boys knew what to do about Tsuna, but waking Sakura seemed like a plan. As the doctor's eyes began to flutter open, Reborn returned with Salmon.

Looking over the carnage, he said, "I see we had guests. Where's Tsuna?"

Sakura moaned and rubbed his head. "I don't know, he woke up then knocked me out before I could put him under again."

"He went to the Warehouse District, Reborn," Gokudera answered. "But not before he took out our guest." He pointed to the pile of ash in the floor. Reborn frowned as he went over to it. Ignoring the fact that it was the only remains of someone his student had killed, he reached in and pulled out a small object. Holding it up, it proved to be one of the enemies' rings.

"Sakura, take this to Patchwork and wait for me there. She'll know what to do." He nodded and took off, leaving the two Ring Guardians alone with Reborn.

"So, why aren't you two with Tsuna?" he asked. Although he already knew why. If the boy could kill someone using his flame, that could only mean that he was past the point of return. His flame had been completely corrupted. The looks on the two boy's faces silently told him he was right. They probably didn't know how to handle such a situation. It was unprecedented, after all.

"Lets go," he said, taking charge. "If you still want to see Tsuna alive, we'll need to provide him with some backup."

* * *

The warehouse district was on fire. Employees were fleeing the area as the fire brigades tried to control the outbreak. Through this, the three made their way to the former location of Warehouse Forty-three.

They couldn't get to it. The area within an one block radius was surrounded by a whirlwind of black flame. In it, they could see the shape of a horse pass by as it continued to run in circles.

"What are we going to do? The 10th is in there!"

Reborn was only able to frown.

"There's nothing we can do."

* * *

Tsuna dodged another punch, silently laughing inside. His sparring against Hibari made this girl seem like she was going in slow motion. Worse, her face was getting angrier and angrier as he continued to dodge her attacks, making it obvious he was playing with her.

Her force and power wasn't to be denied, the craters in the ground being proof. Although she didn't have the muscles he did, the way she used her gloves made up for it. The extra length of the ballroom gloves weren't for show. She was able to emit flame out the backside where her elbow bent, allowing her to add force and propulsion to her punches. It had taken Tsuna a while to get used to her erratic rhythm, during which time she had gotten cocky in her assumed dominance.

But now that he had gotten used to it, she was nothing more than an angry kitten and he was the string playfully bouncing in and out of her reach. He laughed openly as he dodged another punch. Then she changed her tactic, suddenly turning her punch into a slap. Tsuna wasn't able to dodge as she extended her reach with her fingers.

Blood dripped down his cheek from where her nail had scratched him through her gloves. She smiled arrogantly, happy to have finally scored a hit on him. He reached up and touched his cheek, anger overwhelming him as the blood dripped onto his glove.

"I'm through playing with you," he said. Before she could react, he was on top of her, forcefully holding her arms to her sides. His flame pulsed as he began to freeze her before she could struggle; her surprise at his speed and brutality overwhelming her need for self-preservation. "It's over," he said as he continued to emit ice as black as obsidian.

"Only for this cycle," she replied as it covered her chest and legs.

"No," he replied, taking the ring from her hand. Her arms were frozen in place already but she began to struggle uselessly as she realized his intention. "It's over for good." Within seconds, he finished enveloping her, her eyes frozen wide in shock for eternity. Her black flame would be unable to corrupt and break through the black ice he'd created.

He looked up. The building was gone, destroyed by the rampaging horse. The whirlwind of flames had stopped the moment he'd taken the ring from Ari's hand, but he could see the buildings around him continuing to burn. He started to walk forward, intending to find Reborn and have him send people to clean up the mess, but exhaustion hit him. He stumbled and sat against some fallen rubble. He felt so damned tired.

So...tired...

* * *

Cautiously making their way through the rubble of the warehouse, they found Tsuna sitting near a large pillar of black ice. He had bags under his eyes and blood dripped down his cheek from a deep scratch, but otherwise he seemed unharmed. Noticing their approach, he looked up.

"Ding, dong, the witch is dead," he said with a laugh, pointing at the column of ice. Gokudera and Yamamoto didn't know how to reply. Tsuna flicked something into the air, which Reborn caught deftly. It was the last black ring. "I'll let you take care of that. For now, I'm feeling a bit...sleepy." Without waiting on their reaction, he closed his eyes and fell asleep, the flame on his head flickering out as he lost consciousness.

The three looked at each other, unable to formulate their thoughts into words. The sparks seemed to flow out of Salmon almost as if he was crying. Was this really Tsuna?

Leaving the black ice and the ring to Reborn, the two boys went over to their boss; their brother. Careful not to wake him, they silently picked him up and carried him home. It was the only thing they could think to do. Salmon followed in their wake, emitting tears of flame the whole way.

* * *

Gokudera and Yamamoto had tucked him into bed worriedly, while Tsuna's mother and the rest of the Family waited downstairs. They had all wanted to know what had happened, but the boys didn't know how to answer them. Sakura had come by and cleaned the wound on his cheek, checking his vitals as an extra precaution.

"He seems fine," he said.

"Like hell!" Gokudera yelled, finally releasing some of his pent up emotions. "What the hell happened to the 10th? He...he..." Gokudera fell silent, unable to put voice to his bosses' sudden change of personality.

"It must be the affect of the corruption to his flame," Sakura replied. "I don't know how to fix something like that."

"What about you, little guy?" Yamamoto asked Salmon. "Can you think of anything?" Salmon swam in a little circle; affirmative. While hope grew in Tsuna's Family's hearts, he swam up and rubbed his head against each of their cheeks. Almost as if...

"Why are you saying goodbye?" Reborn asked.

Instead of responding, the little eel did a small back flip and dove for Tsuna's head. However, as the group sat in dismay, the Dying Will Flame didn't surface. Instead, a small cracking sound could be heard coming from Tsuna's hand. Lifting it up, Reborn looked at Tsuna's Demitirus ring closely.

"It's broken," he said, knowing full well what that meant. "Salmon's gone."

"What do you mean, gone?" Yamamoto asked, his face blank with shock.

"For all intents and purposes, Salmon is dead," he replied bluntly. "He sacrificed himself to try and save his partner."

"D-did it work?" Sakura asked to no one in particular as tears began to fall.

They all watched Tsuna, waiting for an answer.

* * *

It's so dark, Tsuna thought. So very cold and dark.

He was floating under a sea of filth, the corruption and impurity surrounding him from every side. It was hard to breathe, hard to feel, hard to be. He wanted to be free, to get rid of this stink that covered him. But he was alone and he didn't know the way out. He tried to scream for help, but the corruption clogged his throat and kept his voice from coming out.

In the distance, he saw a light. He began to cry, silently begging for that light to come free him from the darkness. It turned, seeming to hear him. Tsuna reached out and the light responded, coming closer. He recognized it as it began to wrap itself around him. Salmon had come to save him.

Warmth began to leech back into his heart and soul as the orange flame purified the darkness within his body. He could sense the memories and feelings that his Family had given to Salmon. They wrapped around him and flowed through him, pushing away the black filth that held him hostage. Then Salmon began to fade into him as the sea around him began to lighten and the cold disappeared.

"What--" Tsuna began to ask as his voice returned. But he could sense it, Salmon's choice. The eel had chosen to return to Tsuna instead of allowing the darkness to take him. He was giving his life in trade for his partner's freedom. And he was happy he could do it. Tsuna began to cry as he felt that last thought of happiness from his friend.

* * *

Tsuna's eyes fluttered open and he sat up. He was back, but Salmon was gone. Without even having to look at his ring he could feel it. The slimy presence of the black flame was gone, too, he could tell. To double check, he released his flame and looked at it's bright, pure orange color on his glove.

He heard faint sighs of relief around him as his shoulders began to shake. Someone wrapped their arms around him, trying to comfort him. He didn't care who it was, he latched onto them as tears began to fall in mourning.

It was over, but at what price?


	26. Chapter 26 End

Tsuna was in mourning for the next week while teams of Vongola men reported to Reborn about the cleanup operations. With the leaders gone, the cult had fallen into disarray. Verde had been found and released from captivity and the bodies of the missing search teams had been buried. 

He'd been told that while he was lost in the darkness, he'd done some cruel things. He couldn't really remember any of it though. It was all a hazy nightmare to him, one he'd woken from due to Salmon's sacrifice. All that really mattered was that the enemy was gone and wasn't going to return.

Patchwork had offered to make him another ring, but he had refused. Salmon was irreplaceable and he couldn't find it in his heart to create another creature from his flame. It would dishonor the eel's memory, Tsuna felt.

His father had overseen the destruction of the black rings after Patchwork had sealed them. What route he went down for their destruction, Tsuna wasn't sure, but he was positive that they were gone. He'd heard the horse's death screams from halfway across the world the moment they'd been destroyed.

Reborn had told him that the Vendiche had taken custody of the frozen Ari. He wouldn't say more than that she'd been 'dealt with'. Tsuna nor any of his Family wanted to know more. All that mattered to Tsuna was that he knew in their next life, they'd be bound only with the memories and feelings of a single lifetime. All three of them were no longer locked in a circle of accumulated hate.

Slowly, life began to return to normal and everything seemed like it was a bad dream.

"Is it always going to be like this?" He asked Reborn one day. "A never-ending cycle of nightmare followed by a quiet waking?"

Reborn nodded. "This isn't always a peaceful world we live in." He looked at his student curiously. "Does that make you wish you'd given in to them?"

"No," Tsuna replied, laying back as his mother prepared dinner. He thought about all the memories and feelings that Salmon had passed onto him in the darkness. The accumulated love and caring of his Family. "The time we spend awake is more important than any nightmare." And somewhere deep inside, he knew it was the truth.

* * *

Author's note:

I hope you all enjoyed Flames and Family!

Join us in the sequel as Tsuna goes to a high school in Italy and begins training under the 9th boss!


End file.
